


Winds of Magic

by Razial



Series: Alternate Paths [2]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed (TV), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Dark, Drama, F/M, Horror, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 19:24:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 48,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10315286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Razial/pseuds/Razial
Summary: Xander and his friends arrived in San Francisco to locate the Charmed Ones to gain their help in finding out how he and Janna have become bonded, only to end being swept up in a family secret, which leads them into a war and the discovery of a whole new world they had no idea existed.





	

Winds of Magic

Beta: CBriggs1019, Inachis & Hawklan

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters in this story, they belong to Joss Whedon. Charmed and all related characters belong to whoever created it and Harry Potter and all related characters belong to JKR.

Summary: Xander and his friends arrived in San Francisco to locate the Charmed Ones to gain their help in finding out how he and Janna have become bonded, only to end being swept up in a family secret, which leads them into a war and the discovery of a whole new world they had no idea existed.

Chapter 1

(Surrey, England)

Harry Potter groaned as he tried to move off his bed without making himself dizzy. It had been three weeks since he had returned to his relatives' home, just after seeing his fellow student Cedric Diggory being murdered right before his eyes by Peter Pettigrew.

Peter Pettigrew, the one who not only betrayed his parents, but also framed his godfather for it and the murdered thirteen muggles. Harry was also forced to bear witness to the rebirth of Lord Voldemort, his greatest enemy and the bane of the Wizarding world. Harry shivered as he remembered how close he had come to his death that night. He shook his head and tried to push himself to his feet.

It didn't matter that he had survived such a terrible ordeal for the headmaster had still sent him back ‘home' to the Dursley's. His guardians were more abusive than they had been in years. Harry had already suffered multiple beatings by both Vernon and Dudley, whilst his Aunt Petunia just watched with a dead look on her face, as if she didn't care about a thing in the world. He had not been able to answer any posts from his friends, as they had not bothered to try and contact him. His anger and resentment fought with his fear for his friends as he tried again to get out of bed. He managed to stand up, but had to quickly grab his desk as a wave of dizziness swept over him.

He was also very hungry since the Dursley's were not feeding him enough, as usual, and he could barely care anymore. The worst were the nightmares he suffered when he tried to sleep. Seeing all of the horrors he had witnessed in his short life again and again, culminating with Cedric's death, which usually caused him to wake up shouting. This in turn led to him being beaten by Vernon to shut him up. He didn't know how much more he could take anymore. Why hadn't anyone contacted him? Why did Dumbledore insist that he come back here again and again? Always the same questions of why, why, why, with no answers to follow.

Harry began to move towards the door when it was thrown open and Vernon entered with a wild and sadistic look on his face. Harry barely had time to utter a groan as his uncle was upon him once more, knocking him to the floor easily. As the beating went on Harry could feel his magic rolling and knotting within him, when suddenly he felt it pulse before exploding outwards, knocking Vernon into the wall and knocking him out by the force of the onslaught. Harry's last image was a shower of sparkling white lights above him before he too blacked out.

+++

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco, an hour before)

Prue Halliwell looked up from her paper as someone knocked on the door. Sighing she got up and went to open it. Prue started to build her ire at whoever decided to call on their house this morning. With Phoebe at college, Piper at the club and Leo leaving her alone for some much needed peace and quiet. Whoever it was would not be having a good morning once she was done with them. Opening it she was surprised to find a small group of mostly teenagers standing in front of her. In the lead was a tall young man with black hair and brown eyes, who seemed quite serious.

"May I help you?" she asked, but remained on guard just in case there was more here than meets the eye, as she and her sisters had long ago learned to do.

"I'm looking for the Halliwell sisters and I was told they live here," the man replied. "We are in need of their help," he added, causing a small frown to appear on her face.

"I'm Prue Halliwell. My sisters aren't here right now. Just what kind of help do you think we can provide?" she inquired, deciding to take a gamble as she didn't sense anything off about them.

"I don't think discussing it here would be a good idea for either of us," the man replied. "Look, my name is Xander Harris and these are my friends Amy Madison, Janna Kalderdash, Faith Lehane and Jessica Rine. We mean you no harm, I promise," he finished as he introduced himself and his friends.

Prue took a longer look at the small group and wished her sisters were here right now. Again, she could sense nothing off about any of them and they really seemed to need help and they believed she and her sisters could provide it. Finally, she stepped back and allowed them in, casually noting how they all looked around, impressed at the interior of the manor. This caused her to smile slightly, before she settled next to the fire place and spoke.

"Now, what exactly is it you think we can help you with?" she asked again, just as the door opened and Phoebe entered, looking cheerful and happy before stopping as she noted that they had company.

"Hey Prue, who are our guests and what do they want?" Phoebe inquired as she looked the newcomers over.

Prue quickly introduced them, happy to have at least one of her sisters here. If these people were trouble, it raised her odds of getting out of here in one piece.

"As I said, we need your help. We know that you three are the fabled Charmed Ones," Xander spoke up again and then raised his hands as both sisters went to object. "We're no threat to you. We know all about magic. We have three magic users within our group and Faith is a slayer, which I am sure you have heard about," he explained.

Prue and Phoebe shared a glance and although they were confused as to what a slayer was, it was clear these people at least knew that magic was real. Their claim to have three witches in the group surprised them and they both wished Leo was here. Prue whispered into Phoebe's ear to call Piper and have her and Leo get here as fast as possible, but not to orb in as they have company. She watched as her younger sister quickly went to do just that.

"And the reason you have come here?" Prue asked, fully on guard just in case.

"A couple of weeks ago there was a spell cast by a trinity of witches which seemed to have had some unbelievable and very unexpected results. We need help to find out how and why it happened," Xander explained. "I remembered reading about the Charmed Ones and their family line and I thought if anyone could help us find the answers, it would be you," he added.

"And how did you locate us?" Prue asked, intrigued despite herself at the problem and wondering exactly how this spell had gone wrong.

"Well, the book I read gave me most of the clues as to where you were located. As to your identities, we luckily ran into a witch who knew who you were and after extracting a magical promise that we meant no harm, she told us where to find you," Xander answered with a small smile. "She seemed very protective of you," he added and Prue noted the looks that passed between the group, and it was amusement, not anything dark or suspicious which she saw on their faces.

Phoebe returned and nodded pointedly at Prue, letting her know Piper and Leo were on their way back. She wondered why Xander felt the term slayer would mean anything to them before shaking her head and deciding for now to invite them to sit down, while Phoebe made some tea. Fifteen minutes later, Piper and Leo finally walked through the door, looking nervous and Leo actually looked confused, which did not sit well with Prue at all.

"You are not meant to be here," Leo said right off the bat, surprising Prue as Leo was usually very easy going.

"Excuse me?" Jessica asked, raising her right eyebrow at this remark, while Amy and Faith traded confused looks. Meanwhile, Janna and Xander started at Leo, wondering just what he meant.

"You are not meant to be here. The Powers That Be have no jurisdiction here as it is outside their area of control," Leo responded. "San Francisco is under the watch of the Elders. You are supposed to be either in Boston or at the Hellmouth," he added, somewhat panicked while running a hand through his hair.

"We were at both those locations, but we needed help with something that couldn't be found at either," said Xander in response as he stood. "Something has occurred that is outside our knowledge or expertise and is right up your alley. Now exactly who are the Elders? I think I've heard of the Powers from Giles, but I don't know too much about them. So, do you want to explain that statement?" he asked.

"The Powers are a group of upper level beings who supervise the balance in the war against the demons and vampires of the world. Slayers come under their purview, as do many other champions of that type, whilst the Elders are another branch, who oversees the witches of the world, especially here. We mostly fight demons, although we do sometimes end up fighting vampires as well," Leo explained to everyone, as he noticed the sisters also wanted to hear this. "They each have their own territory, where the other is not supposed to operate. I'm sorry, I thought you had come here to fight, not for help," he added with a small apologetic smile.

"This sounds complicated," Amy finally spoke up. "How come we didn't know any of this before?" she asked, turning to Jessica.

"The Watchers know of the Powers, but they refuse to acknowledge them as their overlords. However, this is the first I have heard of the Elders, although I was aware that there are hundreds of witches around the world," Jessica answered.

"So, what you're saying is we aren't supposed to know about each other or fight together, right?" Faith asked as she stood and moved to stand next to Xander.

"Something like that. It has happened in the past, but the Elders and the Powers prefer to keep their followers separate, and before you ask, I'm not entirely sure why," Leo answered as he noted the looks Piper shared with Prue and Phoebe.

"Politics in a war of this magnitude is stupid," Janna stated, annoyed by the very notion of it. "It's getting people killed," she added before cutting off and remembering her own status.

"It's the way it is and there is nothing any of us can do to change it, I'm afraid. Now, what exactly is it that you need help with?" Leo replied and decided to move the topic onto their reason for being here.

"A spell was performed a few weeks ago by a trinity of witches which has had some unexpected... and unbelievable effects," Xander answered.

"Why don't you start at the beginning," Prue said as she sat down along with the others.

They listened as Xander explained the full tale of what had occurred during the past half year, starting with the events surrounding both his exile from Sunnydale and his return, then moving onto Janna's status. First as a ghost and then later, after the spell, she seemed to be very much alive again. He also discussed the mystical bonding, which seemed to have been created between Janna and himself. Throughout it all, the sisters and their Whitelighter listened, showing shock at first and then surprise as they learned what the spell seemed to have done. By the end, they were unsure exactly where to even begin to look to help them learn what had happened.

"This is amazing," Leo said as he leaned back into his seat. "I have never heard of something like this happening before, but with the Hellmouth as a factor, nothing is impossible. I'm going to go and check with the Elders to see if they have any clues. I suggest you have a look in the Book of Shadows," he added before orbing out, surprising Xander and his friends.

"What is he?" Faith asked, very unsure.

"He is a Whitelighter Faith and don't worry, they're not a threat," Jessica said with a laugh. "They guide and advise witches," she added before following the sisters up to the attic, where on a pedestal lay a large tome.

"This is our family book of magic, called the Book of Shadows," Prue explained. "It should have something that could give us some clue as to what may have happened to you," she added. But before she could open it, the book flew open and began flipping through pages until stopping near the back of the book. On the two open pages was an intricately drawn family tree.

"What just happened?" Amy inquired, amazed at what she had just seen.

"That sometimes happens. The book has many secrets and even we don't know them all, but we do know it can be helpful when we really need it and it can protect itself against evil," Piper responded before she noted a name was flashing on the page in an angry red color. "Look at this Prue," she drew her sister's attention to the name and followed the path up.

"How the hell do we have a cousin we didn't even know existed?" Phoebe asked in shock as she realized what the book had just revealed to them.

"Our family has more secrets than we know what to do with, remember?" Prue shot back with a shake of her head. "We wouldn't even know we were the Charmed Ones had you not found the book and read the spell which unbound our powers," she reminded her sister. "It seems this cousin comes from a cousin of our mother, but why is his name flashing red? What is the book trying to tell us and why now?" she asked.

"He could be in trouble," Xander spoke up, having watched the conversation and noting how well the three worked together and how comfortable they seemed in their work.

"What makes you think that?" Prue asked, looking up and locking eyes on the young man, noting he looked deadly serious at the moment.

"Red usually points to danger," Xander said. "And, if he is related to you, then he maybe magical and could be under attack," he added.

"He's right Prue, he could be magical," Piper said before shouting for Leo, who quickly appeared.

"What's wrong, I was only gone for a few minutes?" Leo asked, wondering why he had been recalled so fast.

"We have to get to Harry Potter. It seems he is a cousin of ours we didn't know we had and it also seems he might be in danger and needs our help," Phoebe answered. "The book opened by itself and showed us the family tree and his name is flashing red. Something is wrong and we need to check it out. Can you locate him?" she explained.

Leo looked at the book and noted what they were pointing at. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the family bonds of the Halliwell lines, starting with Prue as the eldest, before moving along and was shocked as he suddenly veered off after Phoebe to someone in Surrey, England, which it had never done before. It was as if a block had suddenly been removed from his sensing ability.

"I've got him," Leo said, opening his eyes and facing the sisters.

"Then take me and Phoebe to him. Piper, you stay here and look after our guests," Prue ordered, quickly making a choice on how to do this.

Piper nodded her head in understanding. She was the best one to be left behind as a precaution, just in case their visitors were after the book. If so, then she could freeze them and stop them from taking it. Even if the book had its own defenses against evil, they didn't want to run the risk of ever loosing it. She watched as Prue, Phoebe and Leo vanished, orbing out, before turning back to the small group who stand off to the side.

"Sorry about that. I'll start looking for something to help you," she said before flipping the book back to the beginning and began to search for references to bonds, all the while wondering what her sisters would find out when they reached this unknown cousin, and why they were only learning of his existence now?

+++

(Surrey, England)

Prue and Phoebe almost winced as they finished reforming due to the loud screeching noise that suddenly assaulted their ears. The noted the tall thin woman the noise was coming from leaning over a large fat man who seemed to be unconscious on the floor. Meanwhile across from them, a large fat boy was kicking a small thin boy on the ground, who already seemed to have been beaten quite a bit. Prue's eyes narrowed as she suddenly felt a connection to the boy on the ground and realized that he was her cousin. Her hand quickly shot out as she unleashed her gift, sending the large boy into the wall and knocking him unconscious. This caused the thin woman to shriek even louder until Phoebe told her to shut up, which amazingly enough, she did.

"Leo, check the kid on the ground," Prue ordered as she glared at the woman. "Why did you allow him to be beaten like that?" she growled out, instantly disliking the woman.

"He deserves it. He's a freak. He's unnatural," the woman protested before backing off as Prue's eyes visibly darkened in anger.

"Prue, Harry has a couple of broken ribs, broken right leg and his left arm has been broken in two places. He also has multiple concussions," Leo said, appalled at the level of abuse that he was seeing. "My god. How could any human being be this cruel to a child?" he asked before he quickly went to work on healing what he could of the worst of the damage.

"Phoebe, grab his stuff, including the owl. Somehow I doubt it's theirs," Prue said in a very dangerous tone, which surprised her sister before she nodded and quickly went about collecting everything she believed belonged to the boy and stuffed it into a large trunk by the bed. When she picked up a small stick that was on the boy's desk, she paused.

"Prue... this has a lot of magic in it," Phoebe said to her sister, finally snapping her out of glaring at the thin woman and directing her attention to the stick.

"I'll take it. It might be important to Harry," Prue said as she took the stick from her sister and shoved it in her coat pocket. "We're taking Harry with us. Got it?" she told the thin woman.

"You can't, the other freaks want him here," the woman protested fearfully.

"How do we contact these others?" Phoebe asked with interest at this new piece of information, while she bent down next to Leo. He continued to work on Harry as swiftly as he could. Noise from the owl cage in her left hand caused her to look more closely at the bird, a beautiful snowy owl that seemed to look back at her with a startling amount of intelligence.

"The owl takes letters to them. That's what they use them for," the woman answered as she recalled what her sister had told her about her world, as well as having watched her nephew receiving post brought by owls.

"Thank you. Leo, how is he doing?" Prue said, keeping an eye on the thin woman and the fat man, who seemed to be waking up.

"He'll live, but it's going to take some time for him to fully heal," Leo answered. "I've done what I can in healing the broken ribs, arm and leg, but as for the concussions, he is going to have to heal from those with time," he continued. "We should go," Leo prompted, taking hold of Harry while Phoebe reached out and placed her right hand on his and Prue grabbed onto both the trunk with one hand and then Leo's shoulder with the other. In an instant all three vanished from the room, leaving a shell shocked Petunia Dursley standing in the room as Vernon finally came to and began yelling, demanding to know where the freak was before checking on his son.

Outside Mundungus Fletcher leaned against a tree under an invisibility cloak, passed out from one to many fire whiskeys and unaware of the happenings inside and so he continued to sleep in blissful ignorance, having not heard anything to alert him to a problem at in 4, Privet Drive.  
2\. Chapter 2

Note: I would like to thank my new betas CBriggs1019, Inachis and Hawklan for their help in writing this story.

Chapter 2

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

Xander looked up as Prue, Leo and Phoebe returned and almost shook his head in shock as he saw the state their newly found cousin was in. It was clear to him that Harry had been beaten, and badly at that.

He fought back the memories this summoned of his own beating at Buffy's hands when she had found out about his lie seven months ago, causing his and Amy's exile. This in turn led them to meet up with Faith and Jessica, only for them to be forced back to Sunnydale to confront their past and their friends.

The events continued to pour through his mind, their currents running so deep s and nearly overwhelmed him. His mind flashed through moments as he remembered that first tense meeting when he revealed his return to Buffy and the others, how his anger and hatred had fought with his former bond of friendship with them. The events from there on had only caused more trouble and conflicting emotions. This was especially so when they brought Janna back, although how they had done that, he still had no clue. It was this, which had led the motley crew to seek out the sisters in the first place.

Shaking free of the past he looked up as Amy took his hand and squeezed it, comforting him. As he looked in her eyes, he noted the dark shadows present and he knew that she was thinking about how close he had come to death from such a beating. He smiled at her reassuringly and nodded in understanding, as he noted Prue almost radiating anger and guessed that whatever they had stepped into when they went to find their cousin was worse than he or they had imagined.

"What happened?" Piper asked, as she saw the bloody stains on Harry's body and noted that he was unconscious.

"His relatives were beating him," Phoebe answered as she noted Prue was still too angry about what they had seen to respond. "I don't think it was the first time they had done it either, from what the woman said," she added, her face filled with distaste at what she had witnessed and heard.

"My god!" Piper said, horrified that any family could turn on one of their own, before noting the darkening eyes of Xander and Faith as they heard Phoebe's response. "Is something wrong?" she asked them, causing everyone's attention to shift and look closely at them before Xander and Faith both excused themselves and left the room.

"Are they alright?" Leo inquired as he again checked on Harry's condition, nodding as he felt Harry's strength return to him, although he was surprised by how fast it seemed. Oddly his magic felt different from the magic of the sisters or the other witches under the elders, and that confused him.

"Both Faith and Alex have had bad childhoods," Jessica answered reluctantly. "Neither has truly put it behind them, but then I wouldn't expect them to, as something like that is bound to fester," she continued with a shake of her head. "Plus, with what Alex has just gone through with the beating he took from Buffy, I believe seeing and hearing what happened to your cousin brought it all to the surface again," she explained, before noting that Janna looked ill. "Janna, are you okay?" she asked.

"It's not me Jessica," Janna said as she sat down, clutching her head in her hands. "It's the bond. It's projecting Xander's emotions and memories to me and it's a little overwhelming," she informed them, as Amy knelt next to her and sighed.

"It was worse than we knew, wasn't it?" she asked, fearing the truth, but needing to know anyway. The sisters and their Whitelighter looked on while they moved Harry onto a nearby couch.

"Much worse," Janna replied, struggling to block out the images of Xander's childhood she was seeing through the bond, but they continued to flow, making her feel even more ill. "I don't know which is worse. His memories or his emotions," she added.

"We'll get a handle on this bond Janna, I promise," Amy replied, not wanting to see her former teacher and friend being so affected. "You'll just have to handle it the best you can for now," she added.

"Amy is right, Janna. Until we can learn why this bond formed in the first place and just what it does exactly, you're going to have to just go with it for now," Jessica said, placing a hand on Janna's shoulder. "I daren't try anything magical on the bond lest it backfire on us, causing you and through you, Alex, harm," she added with a frown. "There's also the fact that we don't know what the trinity spell actually did to you. Without that or how it was able to return you to life, we can't know how magic would react to you right now," she explained.

"Leo, I want you to go see the elders and find out what you can about the bond and this trinity spell they did," Prue finally broke her silence, as she concentrated on something other than what she had witnessed happening to her cousin. She pulled the stick from her pocked and put it on a nearby table only for Leo to grab it.

"Leo, do you know what that stick is?" Piper asked, as she noted how Leo was looking it over.

"I do, it's a wand," Leo replied, just stopping himself from groaning as he realized why Harry's magic felt different from the sisters and the other witches under the elders. This could only mean trouble was on the horizon. "Now I think I know why you never knew about Harry. Its doubtful your mother knew she had a cousin either Prue, because they're a different breed of witches and wizards who are hidden from the world by a series of powerful spells. These spells can hide entire towns from ever being found by normal people and we ourselves have had little to do with them in our long history," he explained to the sisters' confused stares. "You mother's cousin was most likely secluded in the magical world as soon as she was old enough to go. They lost contact to the point that your mother forgot her and vice versa," he added, running his hand through his hair. "The last I heard, the magical world wasn't too keen on being connected to our world," he stated.

"But why Leo?" Prue inquired, not understanding how anyone could want to be separated from the rest of the world in such a way. "It doesn't make sense," she added.

"They're a strange bunch of people, controlled by a ruling pureblood class the last I heard," Leo answered as best he could. "These are families comprised of full blood witches and wizards that have existed for ages without any intermarrying with non-magical families or ones that are half-bloods. They believe that they're better than those who are half blood or first generation," he continued as he remembered what he had learned from his friends and mentors about the magical world. "The magical world is stuck in this kind of limbo of Victorian times with the purebloods refusing to allow new ideas into their world. Those who try and oppose them usually lose and are punished for it," he said with a sigh.

"Sounds like this magical world could do with a shake up," Amy said, intrigued by the culture, while also disgusted at the backwards thinking of the pureblood witches and wizards.

"As fascinating as this all is, maybe we should get Harry to a bed where he can rest and recover," Phoebe finally spoke up after a moment of silence had descended, trying to move things back to what was most important right now.

"Good idea, I'll help," Xander said as he re-entered the room. While the others could still see the dark shadows in his eyes, they noted that he seemed to have clamped down on his emotions and memories, as Janna was looking much better. "Where do you want him?" he asked. He and Leo gently lifted Harry up and followed Phoebe as she led them to her bedroom, all the while still holding the owl cage from which the snowy owl watched them all and seemed to be listening to what they were saying.

"I better go and check on Faith," Jessica said before getting up and heading out of the room to look for her charge.

Amy sat down next to Janna and watched as Piper returned to look through the Book of Shadows. Meanwhile, Prue sat down across from them and rubbed her eyes and tried to stem the whirling emotions she was still feeling from seeing her cousin in such a brutalized state. Phoebe returned with the owl on her shoulder and Leo.

"Prue, I think we should send a note to these others that woman spoke of. Let's see what happens when they realize Harry is missing," Phoebe said, determined to learn how her cousin had been allowed to live in such an abusive environment.

"Phoebe, we have to be careful how we move with this," Prue warned her sister with a look before acknowledging the point. "But you are right. Maybe if we can get their attention we can find out some answers as to just how our cousin ended up in such a situation without anyone knowing about it," she added a second later, as she quickly wrote a note out.

Turning to the owl, who regarded her with a sharp look before sticking her leg out, she attached the note. "This is a weird way of communicating," she said with a small laugh as she attached the note. She then watched as Phoebe, Leo and the owl orbed out back to England so that the owl could be released as it was clear that it knew where the letter was meant to go.

+++

(12 Grimmauld Place, London)

Sirius Black sat at the dinner table alongside his friend Remus Lupin and his cousin Nymphadora Tonks, talking about the growing situation at the Ministry and what its effects would be on the war to come. Meanwhile, in the back of his mind, he wondered how his godson Harry Potter was doing. He wasn't happy that Dumbledore had refused to allow any posts to him this summer from anyone, meaning Harry was cut off from everyone who cared about him. He was sure it wasn't doing Harry any good after what he had witnessed at the end of the Tri-Wizard tournament a month back.

He was feeling more and more frustrated by this lack of communication as Harry too had been told he could not send any posts. So they had no idea how he truly was and if the Dursley's were behaving themselves this summer, which he doubted from the few dark comments Harry had dropped in their short talks. He was fearful that Harry might do something foolish in retaliation to this order from Dumbledore or that Harry would allow the memory of watching a fellow student die consume him. He banged his fist on the table in anger at the thought, startling Tonks and Remus.

"Is something bothering you Padfoot?" Remus asked his old friend, concerned by the look on the man's face, which was slowly recovering from his longs years in Azkaban Prison.

"I'm worried about Harry, Remus, and I'm annoyed at the old man for locking him away from anyone who can help him come to terms with what he witnessed at the end of term," Sirius answered with a dark look at both of them. "How can he do it with so little care? Without even thinking about what kind of impact that event has had on Harry's mind and soul?" he asked almost in a growl. "God damn it, Remus, Harry has been through one bad year after another ever since he came back into the Wizarding world and Dumbledore don't seem to care what these events are doing to the child. No one can take what Harry has been through without snapping or giving up. So why the hell has he done this?" he spat, releasing his anger and frustration.

Remus sighed as he listened to his friend vent his anger and frustration. He had to concede that the man did have a point. No, more than a point, as everything he said was sound. He was just as worried about how Harry was doing after this latest event. Harry must be near the end of his rope with what all he has seen and being forced to do in the past four years. He had faced more dark wizards and beasts than most fully grown witches and wizards. He had survived through a combination of luck, skill and his amazing strength of spirit and heart, but this latest event almost cost Harry his life, as again he came face to face with Voldemort, the man who had murdered his parents and made Harry an orphan. He rubbed his eyes and wondered how to answer his friend without elevating the frustration and anger he was feeling and maybe causing him to take a risk and go check on Harry.

"The guards haven't noticed anything too bad Sirius," Tonks spoke up before Remus could speak. "They've seen Harry a few times in the last three weeks since he went back to the Dursley's and we set up the watch system," she added, still a little unsure around her cousin as she was still coming to terms with the fact he had been innocent of the crimes he had been sent to Azkaban for. "I'm sure that Harry is okay," she said with what she hoped was a hopeful smile, as she was not too keen on the Dursley's after viewing them during her own guard time.

"He better be Tonks or those Dursley's and Dumbledore will wish they'd never been born," Sirius promised in reply. "I also want to know why the old man wants to keep any and all information about what Voldemort and his Death Eaters are doing from Harry?" he asked a few seconds later. "After everything he has been through, I think he has earned the right to know exactly what is going on," he added, frowning.

"I agree," Remus said, "but there is nothing we can do Sirius. If we disobey his orders, we will most likely be kicked out of the Order and you know most of the others agree with Albus about this point, especially Snape and Molly," he continued.

"Don't even get me started on Snape, Remus," Sirius growled. Just thinking about the man brought forth a surge of anger and hatred. "As for Molly, she's naive if she thinks Harry is still just a kid after the things he has seen and done," he spat, again overcome with frustration as he remembered the many arguments he'd had with Molly over Harry and what was best for him.

Before either Remus or Tonks could reply they were surprised when Hedwig, Harry's owl, flew into the kitchen through an open window and landed onto the dinner table before sticking out her leg so Sirius could take the note. Tonks got up and grabbed some owl treats and placed them in front of the owl along with some water and watched in amusement as the owl quickly tucked into the meal, hooting once in thanks. Turning her attention back to her cousin she watched as his faced clouded in anger and then confusion before he put the letter down. He quickly began to write a reply after grabbing some paper and a quill from the next room.

Remus took the letter and read through it, ignoring Tonks as she read it over his shoulder. When he put it down he was filled with the same anger and confusion as Sirius had displayed, while Tonks looked conflicted. They watched as Sirius finished off the letter he had just written and then hurriedly tied it to Hedwig. They watched as she hooted once before flying out immediately.

"Should we inform Albus about this Sirius?" Remus inquired.

"Not on your life Remus," Sirius shot back, annoyed with his old friend for even suggesting that right now. "You read what those filthy evil muggles did to him. Knowing the old man, he would suggest either it was a misunderstanding or Harry provoked them into acting, and in either case he'd send Harry back," he snarled. "Well, I won't have it Remus. I'm his godfather and I have been stupid to listen to that man's suggestions, instead of what my gut was telling me and what we both knew from what Lily told us about her sister," he added, banging his fist again on the table. "If these people are family to Harry, then he is safe with them and we will soon find out what occurred. We'll be meeting them tonight, if they agree to what I wrote in my reply. I want your word that neither of you will tell Dumbledore or anyone else about this until we have met these people," he demanded, looking them both in the eye and making sure they could see he was deadly serious.

Remus and Tonks exchanged looks before nodding and giving their word that they would wait until after meeting these people to tell Albus about this new development. They watched as Sirius gathered up the note and began to exit the kitchen.

"Be ready to go and make sure you don't give anyone reason to suspect something is up, okay?" Sirius told them before exiting, leaving his friend and cousin to think over what they had read in the letter, while wondering if they had done the right thing in agreeing to Sirius's request.

+++

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

Prue looked up as Phoebe, Leo and the owl returned and wondered if they had managed to contact Harry's friends. Xander was sitting beside her, looking out of the nearby window, while Amy and Janna were standing next to Piper, who was still going through the Book of Shadows, looking for anything that might explain what the trinity spell had done to Janna or the bond that now existed between her and Xander. Jessica and Faith were downstairs, obviously still trying to overcome the dark memories that had surfaced when they had brought Harry here and learned what had happened to him.

"We waited around, as we didn't want the owl to tire herself out while trying to fly to San Francisco from England," Phoebe said with a smile before handing the reply to her eldest sister and watched as she read through it.

"It's written by Harry's godfather apparently," Prue informed them, noting she had everyone's attention. "He says he wants to meet us to determine if we are who we say we are. It'll be just him and two friends, one of which was as close to Harry's parents as he himself was. He says that if we are family to Harry, there's a lot we have to discuss, and that Harry is in danger in the open, but he can't go further into it in a letter," she said, telling them what the letter said.

"What should we do Prue?" Piper asked, not liking this, but knowing if they were to get to the bottom of this latest personal mystery, they might have to take the risk.

"If I may," Xander interrupted them. When Prue nodded, he went on, "I think that it's in your own best interest to meet these people and to find out just what kind of danger Harry might be in, because if someone or something is after him, then it will come here for him, if it can. That means that you are now in the same danger," he advised them. "I suggest that we meet them in England, so that they don't know where Harry is until we're sure that they aren't a threat. From there, we can decide what move to make next," he added.

"We?" Prue questioned his use of the term.

"If you'll accept the help, some of us will come with you and some will stay here and help keep an eye on Harry," Xander said, pausing only for a few moments as he tried to find the right words to reply with.

Prue shared a look with Piper and Phoebe before nodding as they built up a small amount of trust with their new friends. Prue wrote out a reply with a time for the meeting before sending Leo back to release the owl.

"If we're going to do this, then we do it right," Prue said. "Phoebe, you'll stay here and look after Harry, Faith and Jessica," she added. "The rest of us will go and meet these people. We'd better be prepared for the possibility of a trap," she warned, as Amy went to tell Faith and Jessica what was going on.

"Don't worry. We're very good at what we do, Prue," Xander said as Janna walked over and joined him before waving her hand. Prue, Piper and Phoebe were surprised to see weapons appear on Xander, including a sword tied to his back in a scabbard. He also wore two stakes and a long knife in his belt. "We never go anywhere unarmed, but we've learned to hide our weapons so that no one notices them," he said when he noted their looks.

"Nice collection," Piper said, at a loss of anything else to say as Amy returned with Faith and Jessica. The sisters noted that now they could see that all of them were armed, mostly with stakes, but Faith and Jessica both had a sword tied to their backs, same as Xander. They wondered just what kind of things they fought on the Hellmouth when Leo finally returned. While he looked uncomfortable at the weapons their new friends were wearing, he didn't say anything.

"They've agreed to meet in London, near the city centre," Leo told them. "They will look for the owl, which by the way is named Hedwig according to their reply, so she will be coming with us so that they can spot us," he added as he stroked Hedwig, who seemed to love the attention.

"Then let's get this show on the road," Janna said as she watched Faith quickly move forward and kiss Xander as hard as she could before stepping back and telling him to watch his back. Janna tried to ignore the feedback she felt over the bond before they were orbed out of the manor.

+++

(London, City Centre)

When Prue looked around after they had orbed in, she noted that they were in an alley and that Janna had obviously reapplied the spell which hid the weapons Xander and his friends were wearing. Following the others out into the city, she found herself impressed by some of the tall statues that she saw. She had never been to England before, and she decided to have a good look around while she was here. They headed to a big circle wall which held a large collection of flowers and sat down as they waited. They noted that no one looked at them oddly, which was somewhat surprising as they did have an owl with them. Hedwig seemed antsy, she noted with amusement, and was looking around before she hooted three times and flew off, only to land on the shoulder of a man of mid height with dark hair and a beard and two cold grey eyes, which spoke of terrors witnessed and cunning intelligence.

They watched as the man reached up and stroke Hedwig before walking towards them, followed by his two companions.

One was another man, who sadly looked like he had seen better days as he looked both worn and tired. His eyes seemed to convey wisdom and deep pain. The other was a young woman who had shockingly pink hair and brown eyes, which showed confusion and a sense of awareness as they closed the distance to them.

"Hello, my name is Sirius Black. I'm Harry's godfather," the first one said. "This is Remus Lupin and Tonks," he added, knowing better than to try and say his cousin's first name and not being in the mood to tease her right now, as this was a deadly serious matter.

"Nice to meet you," Prue said looking them over. "My name is Prue. This is my sister Piper, my brother in law Leo and our friends Xander, Janna and Amy," she added, introducing her group in turn. "So, how do you want to do this?" she asked.

"There are two ways that we can do this Prue," Leo interrupted before Sirius could reply. "One, we can summon Harry's parents to speak on their behalf, but that means taking them home and risking alerting them as to where Harry is. If they are a threat, that is not acceptable. Two, I can check in with the Elders and see if they can give us anything," he added.

"Check with the Elders then Leo, but be quick," Prue said after thinking it through. "I got a bad feeling about all this," she added.

Leo nodded and turned to kiss Piper before walking back into the ally and orbing out. He knew the Elders wouldn't be happy about them getting caught up in the magical world, but he also knew that the sisters wouldn't turn their backs on their newly discovered cousin, no matter what the Elders said and he only hoped things would turn out okay.  
3\. Chapter 3

Note: Thank you again to cbriggs1019, Inachis and Hawklan for going over this chapter.

Chapter 3

(Unknown Location)

In a darkened room a tall man sat behind a desk with his hands folded together as he began to plot the next moves in his long plan. The only light came from a small lamp halfway across the room, which cast a shadow on his face. So far, baring a few problems, everything had gone according to plan, but he had to be careful with his next move or everything he had gone through would be for naught.

A dark chuckle escaped his lips as he read over the latest reports from his followers, making sure everything was proceeding to his satisfaction in the most important areas. As he finished the last report, he leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes, wondering just how the next year would go. He had succeeded in sowing chaos amongst his enemies and making them fight one another. That would enable him to move unopposed if things continued to run as he had planned. He opened his eyes and began to pen new orders to formalize his next few moves with a smile on his face.

+++

(London, City Centre)

Xander kept an eye out for any signs of danger. Not just from the three people in front of him, but also from the surrounding areas, just in case this all was a trap. Something in him told him it wasn't as he saw the concern for Harry in their eyes as they came to a halt in front of them. Also, the fact that Hedwig seemed to like and trust these people was a point in their favor. She seemed to have both a protective streak for Harry a mile wide and a higher level of intelligence than he'd expected to see in an owl.

Leo finally returned a half hour later and they could all tell by the look on his face that he did not carry good news. Prue and Piper exchanged dark looks at this and wondered just what the elders had to say that would make Leo look so cross.

"Leo?" Piper asked when he came to a halt.

"Not here Piper," Leo replied. "This is not going to go down well and we'd better do it somewhere more private," he added, as he led them back into the alley and then orbed the entire group back to the manor. He wasn't looking forward to the coming argument as he knew the sisters were likely to all lose their tempers over this.

Sirius and his two companions were confused as to what exactly was going on, but were willing to trust these people to a point as they doubted that Hedwig would work for someone who meant Harry harm. When they were orbed out, they all gasped in shock at this display of power as they had never before seen anything like it.

+++

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

"What the hell was that?" Sirius demanded as they reappeared in an entirely new place. He felt slightly shaken by the way they had been transported and he noted that Tonks looked slightly off, whilst Remus seemed intrigued. Trust him to ever be the scholar.

"That was orbing," Leo answered as Faith, Phoebe and Jessica looked up from what they were doing. "It is how my kind moves around," he added. "This is Phoebe, Faith and Jessica, the rest of our group," he said, introducing the three people they didn't know. "Guys, this is Sirius, Remus and Tonks," he added.

"Where's Harry?" Tonks inquired as she looked around the house they were in, trying to find anything that would give away where they were in relation to location.

"Not so fast. First we need to know that you are no threat. Then you can see Harry," Prue said and everyone could hear the threat in her voice if they meant any danger to Harry. "Leo, what did the Elders say? Why bring us back here without confirming who they are?" she asked as she turned to her brother-in-law and whitelighter.

"The Elders are in an uproar, Prue. First with Xander and his group coming here and now this thing with the magical world," Leo answered with a sigh. "They are demanding that we send them all back to where they came from this instant. I told them you wouldn't abandon your cousin, now you knew of his existence and they just got angrier," he continued while running a hand through his hair. "They don't like the fact that two groups from completely different factions of our war have become involved with you. Especially Xander's group, who belong to the Powers That Be," he explained.

"Hey, we do not belong to anyone Leo," Xander spoke up, interrupting the whitelighter. "The Powers may have some hold on the slayers and watchers, but I got into this to save lives after one of my best friends got turned, forcing me to stake him and the others almost got killed," he continued his tone angry and bitter. "I serve no one but myself and my friends," he stated.

"I'm sorry. Bad choice of words," Leo responded. "However, the Powers see any group who fights vampires and demons as theirs. It's how they operate," he told them.

"What have we got ourselves into Remus?" Tonks whispered to her friend, who was all the more intrigued by the mention of vampires and demons.

"I don't know yet Tonks," Remus responded. "But I think we may have found ourselves some allies, especially if they're related to Harry," he added. "The fact that they know about vampires indicates they may be magical," he concluded.

"We're just a whole different kind of magic," Leo said, hearing the whispered conversation and surprising them both. "Look, the point is Prue, that until you send them all away, the Elders are not willing to help you," he said, turning back to the sisters. He winced at the angry expressions this statement brought to their faces.

"That is it!" Prue shouted, her temper finally snapping. "I have had enough of the Elders and their stupid orders. We will not send Harry away, no matter what they say or do. He is blood, our family Leo and if they don't like it, then tough," she continued. "We will no longer work for them if this is how they continue to treat us after everything we have done since becoming witches. They have messed with us one time too many, especially where our personal and family lives come into it, and I for one am not willing to put up with it anymore," she stated.

Leo winced again as he heard Prue's reply. He'd known what the Elders had said was not going to go down well, but this was something he had not expected and he had no clue how the Elders would react to this. He looked to Phoebe and Piper and while Phoebe seemed shocked, Piper was nodding her head in agreement with her eldest sister. This was no surprise, considering what she had gone through just so she could have a relationship with him and so they could marry.

Xander watched this interaction with interest and he wondered just what kind of beings these Elders were if they cared so little for their people. Harry had been brutally beaten and it seemed they didn't care one little bit about it. It made him wonder if the Powers and others like them were any better with them. After all, they were just pawns in their never ending war with the darkness.

He didn't like the conclusions he was coming to as it meant there was no great power on their side, just these petty little factions who seemed to want to hold onto their power and followers at the cost of everything. He shook his head and wished they weren't so blind before, focusing on other matters. He felt a hand slip into his and looked sideways to find Janna standing by his side with an understanding look on her face. He knew she had sensed his thoughts through the bond and shared them. He gave her a grim smile before turning back to the sisters and their guests.

"Prue, are you sure you want to piss the Elders off even more?" Phoebe inquired, feeling a little uncertain of this move.

"I no longer care how they feel Phoebe. If they weren't so busy trying to control us and keep us away from people who could help us fight, our mother might not have died. Heck, no other witch in the last century might have, as they would've had some major backup instead of just a whitelighter who can't always be there for them. No offense Leo," Prue shot back with a frown, to which Leo nodded, understanding her feelings.

"Phoebe, they've made their choice," Piper cut in. "They've cut us loose, so enough is enough. We are done with them and from here on out, we will walk our own path," she added.

"Sounds like you have the same kind of problems as everyone else." Sirius stated. "Power plays and bullies," he added.

"Can I turn this back to the problem at hand?" Xander asked and when Prue nodded, he spoke again. "How do we make sure that they are who they say they are?" he asked.

"There is only one way now. We summon Harry's parents," Prue replied, running her hand through her hair whilst trying to force down the anger she felt at the elders.

"How can you do that?" Remus asked, suddenly very nervous and uneasy, yet hopeful that it was possible they might be able to see Lily and James again right now.

"I told you our branch of magic is completely different from yours," Leo reminded them. "We have spells to summon the spirits of the dead and have done so for years," he added.

"Follow us," Prue said as she headed for the attic, hoping to put this topic to rest and finally move onto something new, which would help them decide what to do next in regards to Harry.

Sirius and his two companions followed them up into the attic, each wondering what they and Harry had got themselves into as well as wondering if they were indeed about to see James and Lily Potter once again. For Nymphadora this was even more nerve-wracking, for she had not seen the Potters since she was a child. She remembered visiting them once with her mother and Sirius, just after Harry had been born, and she had felt somewhat intimidated by them both.

Sirius and Remus both were busy fighting their emotions and the memories of their lost friends while battling with the hope of actually talking to them once more. They didn't know what to believe, but were willing to take a chance here. Xander took a position near the door and then told the rest of his group to take up positions around the room so they could cover the three Brits, just in case they weren't who they said they were. Something told him what was about to happen would change everything, and he was sure that until they had sorted things in regards to Harry, they wouldn't be finding too many answers to their own problems. But he wasn't too annoyed by this as Harry needed their help more right now.

He watched in interest as the sisters leafed through the book before coming to stop on the page they wanted. Piper lit candles which marked a pentagram that he had not noticed before and which was drawn on the floor, before she rejoined her sisters and began to chant the spell. He felt a shiver go down his spine as he noticed how interested Amy seemed to be in this show of power before realizing he was afraid of any of his friends abusing the magic they controlled.

Janna, who was off to the side of Xander and closest to Sirius, turned and looked at him as she felt Xander's sudden anxiety. When she concentrated on the bond, she was shocked as she felt everything he was thinking and feeling at that point, making her realize that the bond was getting stronger. This scared her and intrigued her. Xander suddenly looked up and pinned her to her spot, and she knew he had heard her thoughts, just as she knew he was unsure how to respond to this. Their relationship was still shaky since leaving Sunnydale and Faith was very skittish about how close they were getting to each other. She let out a breath as Xander finally looked away with the sisters finishing their chant.

Everyone looked on in awe as there appeared a shower of bright lights before two people came into focus, looking quite happy to be seen. One was tall with blue eyes and dark messy hair, almost an exact older copy of Harry, while the other was a tall woman, with startling green eyes and bright fiery red hair. Sirius, Remus and Tonks gaped at the new comers whilst the others shared amused looks between themselves.

"James, Lily," Sirius finally managed to speak up. "Is that really you?" he asked.

Lily looked over her friends for a few seconds before she turned and shot out of the room, obviously heading for the room where Harry was recovering. Faith quickly darted out after her, just to make sure nothing happened to the kid. She was followed shortly thereafter by Phoebe.

"Hello Sirius," James responded with a small smile. "You'll have to forgive Lily, she's been very worried about Harry," he added. "Prue. Piper. It is a pleasure to meet you and I speak for both myself and Lily in saying how thankful we are that you chose to rescue Harry and stick with him," he continued.

"You're welcome," Prue replied, sharing the smile James wore and almost laughing at the still gob smacked looks on Remus and Tonks faces. Meanwhile, Sirius seemed to have re-centered himself as he moved forwards and pulled James into a hug after he stepped out of the pentagram and become solid like his wife after she left the room. "I take it these people are who they say they are and that they are not a threat to Harry or ourselves?" she asked.

"They are indeed who they say they are and are most definitely not a threat, especially not to Harry," James answered as he released Sirius and moved to engulf Remus in a hug. Remus finally seemed to be shaking himself out of his stupor. "Hello little Nymphy," James said as he released Remus, who seemed a little choked up. James chuckled when Tonks growled at him for using her first name, which she hated.

James then headed out of the room to see his son and was followed by everyone else. When they entered the room where Harry lay, they found Harry still unconscious in his bed, but looking much better than he had when he'd arrived. Lily was sat on the side of the bed, running her hand through her son's hair with a very troubled look on her face, while Faith and Phoebe stood off in the corner, watching.

James sighed angrily at seeing his son recovering from a beating that he should never have had to undergo. He would never have ended up with Lily's sister, if their will had been followed. He knew his wife was angry and also wanted a chance at payback for what her sister and her disgusting family had done to their son, but they could do nothing. They were just ghosts, and it was not up to them to deliver vengeance.

"I think it's time we know exactly what's going on," Piper spoke up, breaking up the silence that had settled on the room. "What is this danger you said Harry is under threat from?" she asked.

"It is a very long story Piper," James replied, running a hand through his hair. Oh, how he wished for a few moments of history that could have happened differently. "Everyone might as well find a seat as this will take some time," he added.

Once everyone was seated somewhere, including the floor in some cases, James began to speak, with Sirius and his friends interrupting every now and then. The story both amazed and horrified the sisters and Xander's group. To know that there was an army of murdering and rapist madmen just waiting to descend on their world shocked them to the core. It also set them on edge, especially when they began to learn about the group's leader Voldemort, who was the primary threat to Harry.

As the story continued, the group grew more and more restless, especially when James proceeded to the end of the first war which concluded with his and Lily's death and the wrongful imprisonment of Sirius. From here, Sirius and Remus took over and began to tell them what they knew of Harry's life, including his childhood with the Dursleys as well as his adventures since returning to the magical world. They could all tell there were some things they still did not know, but overall they were impressed with Harry's deeds. They were surprised that he had managed to survive against such impossible odds and with so little training.

As the story wound down, they were again horrified as they learned Harry had witnessed a fellow student's death at the hands of the reborn Voldemort. Then to be almost killed by one of his followers after escaping his Nemesis's clutches before being sent straight back to his hateful family and cut off from everyone who could possibly have helped him come to terms with what had happened. None of them could understand the headmaster's motives in doing this, not even James and Lily, who told them they could only watch Harry and the rest of their world at certain times, mumbling something about the rules of the afterlife.

"So, a war is brewing in your world and Harry is going to be at the center of it all because of some prophecy made by a source that is doubtful at best?" Prue inquired and was trying to digest everything she had been told. She shared a look, first with her sisters and then Xander and his friends. She noted they were deep in conversation about what they had just learned.

"I'm afraid so Prue," Sirius agreed, still wondering why Dumbledore had secluded Harry away from help. "If Voldemort learns Harry is away from his protection, he will strike here as soon as he locates him," he added.

"I would suggest you put a Fidelius charm on this house and use Prue as the secret keeper. That will help hide Harry from whoever wants him until he has recovered," Lily spoke, finally breaking her silence and looking up. "He needs training for what is to come and I do not trust Dumbledore to give it to him until it is too late," she added.

"What's a Fidelius charm?" Faith asked, not recognizing the term.

"It is a spell which can be used to hide a house or building or even an object or person, depending on what you want to use it for," Lily responded, looking back down at her son, wishing he was awake.

They moved back out of the room after another few minutes, to give Harry some peace. There were still a great many things to discuss. Remus had decided to cast the spell once Lily and James left. As they re-entered the attic they were shocked for a few seconds to see thirteen demons suddenly appear, before everyone jumped into the fight, including James and Lilly.  
4\. Chapter 4

Note: I would like to thank my beta's cbriggs1019, Inachis and Hawklan for their help with this story.

Chapter 4

(Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry)

Albus Dumbledore sat within his office in front of Severus Snape, listening to his report about his latest meeting with the Dark Lord. He was relieved to hear that Voldemort had believed the story they had concocted to explain why Snape had not returned to the Dark Lord's side as soon as he completed his resurrection ritual. Obviously, Severus was still a very good actor and also had kept up with the Occlumency lessons Albus had taught him when he first became a spy during the first war.

His mind turned momentarily to Harry Potter as he wondered if he would have to be taught Occlumency as well sometime this year. He had many suspicions about Harry's scar and its connection to the Dark Lord, which had presented itself to his notice since Harry's return to the Wizarding world. He shook the thought off and concentrated back on what Severus was saying, noting that Igor Karkaroff had indeed gone into hiding to escape the newly reborn Dark Lord and his followers. The Durmstrang headmaster was of no interest at this time, but maybe later on he could be useful if he could be found and had something to offer. No, for now he was on his own. What Albus was most concerned about at the moment was Voldemort breaking out his most dangerous supporters, who were locked up in Azkaban, and secondarily his growing issue with Fudge and the Ministry's refusal to admit the return of the Dark Lord.

As Snape finished his report, he wondered what moves to make next. Recruitment for the Order of the Phoenix was slow, but successful. However, they had to be careful to prevent the Ministry from getting wind that he had reactivated the Order in the first place. He was certain that such a matter would push Fudge too far and he would order his arrest. "Thank you Severus," he finally spoke. "Nearly everyone we suspected would rejoin the Dark Lord has done so, and we know what he is after right now, even more so than young Harry," he added.

"Indeed Headmaster," Snape responded with a scowl on his face. "He is obsessed with obtaining the full prophecy being held in the Department of Mysteries. However, so far his attempts have all failed," he added with a grim smile. "As for Potter, the Dark Lord is ignoring the boy at this moment in time as unimportant. I do not believe he will keep that stance for long though, Albus," he pointed out. "Potter's escape from the graveyard in front of so many of his newly returned servants has weakened his position. This is not the first time Potter has escaped or stopped the Dark Lord's plans, although obviously none of the Death Eaters dare say anything about it within ear shot of him ," he explained.

"Interesting, but we both know that none of them will leave Voldemort's service, no matter what they truly think," Dumbledore stated. "They are too afraid of his power or they truly believe that he will bring about a new world order, which will give them power over everyone," he added. "As for Harry, he was lucky to have escaped as he did, although it is sad that he could not save Mr. Diggory. But then, these things happen. We must take steps to make sure we are not caught off guard when Voldemort does turn his attention back to Harry. This will most likely occur when he returns to Hogwarts for the new school year," he explained.

"Do you believe Potter will be in any shape to come back after what he witnessed at the end of last term Albus? What he just barely escaped happening to him?" he inquired. "Especially seeing as you have forbidden anyone from helping him come to terms with the events in question," he added. He, like the rest of the Order, was confused by the Headmasters orders in this regard and he wanted to know his reasoning.

"Concerned about Harry, Severus?" Dumbledore asked with a twinkle in his eyes and an amused smile on his face, already knowing the answer.

"Absolutely not. I was just curious," Snape sneered in reply, even though a small part of him was indeed concerned. He had made a vow long ago to protect Lily Evans' son even though he hated him for being James Potter's son as well. He would protect the brat, no matter what, and that meant his mental health as well as his physical health.

"I have my reasons Severus and I believe Harry will recover before the new term, so not to worry. He is a strong young man and I believe he will surprise everyone with how well he manages to pull himself together when we move him to headquarters later on in the month," Dumbledore told him confidently with a smile. "Now, you have things to do as do I, but be careful not to blow your cover. I would hate to lose you Severus," he said with concern.

"I will be careful. Hopefully the Dark Lord's anger will have already found a target before I arrive," Severus responded as he headed out of the office. He wondered if the old man would be correct about Potter recovering on his own before shaking his head and concentrating on other matters.

+++

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

Xander ducked the swing of the demon as it attacked him. He was surprised at the demons' ability to shimmer into the house of such powerful witches, but by the looks on the Halliwell sisters' faces, this was not something new. It looked as if it was something that they were used to happening a lot. He grabbed one of his knives and tried to bring it upwards into the creature's stomach, but it managed to jump backwards before lashing out at him once again. He dropped to his knees before sweeping his left leg out and taking the demon's legs out from under it. After it had fallen onto the floor, he plunged his knife straight into its throat, killing it instantly. Seeing it was dead, he pulled out the knife and moved on to attack another.

Sirius was back to back with Remus and Tonks, shooting whatever dangerous spells and curses they could think of at these things. They had never seen anything like them before, although according to Janna, before she got separated from them, these were demons. That thought had sent shivers up and down their spines as they drew their wands and fought back. It took all their focus to keep the demons from getting too close. They saw most of the others engaging the demons in hand to hand combat with their weapons. Meanwhile, the sisters were using magic of a sort they did not recognize, but it seemed to be wandless.

Prue narrowed her eyes as she unleashed her personal power on the demon she was fighting, sending it flying into the mirror and smashing it. As she saw the demon fall onto the floor, she noted it had a dozen sharp pieces of glass in its back, so she concentrated on them and caused them to sink deeper into the demon. The demon howled in agony before it was silenced as Xander took its head off with his sword while rushing past them. She was really in no mood for this, but they did give her something to work out her anger and frustration on. She turned and watched her sisters combine with Amy and Jessica to take two more of the demons down, while James and Lily were using wands like their friends. She wondered for a minute where they had gotten them before shaking it off and moving on to the next demon.

Faith almost smiled as she blocked the almost cocky swing of the demon she was currently fighting. It was clear that it did not consider her much of a threat. Well, that was its first and last mistake. She lashed out with a strong kick aimed at its knee and was rewarded with the sound of it breaking before she pulled her sword and embedded it in the things back. She finished it off by angling the blade upwards into the creature's brain. Janna blasted a demon backwards as it tried to pull her down, but it quickly jumped back at her and brought its claws down, just catching her in the arm, drawing a lot of blood from where they had impacted. She managed not to cry out and noticed out of the corner of her eye that Xander flinched and grabbed his arm right where she had just been wounded. She couldn't tell if the wound might have been transferred to him through the bond or just the pain. A knock to her side caused her to refocus on her attacker and she again summoned her powers before unleashing them and causing the demon to burst into flames.

As the fight began to wind down and the last few demons were brought down, another twenty demons shimmered in. For a minute there was silence as they looked at each other before the fighting broke out once more, even more deadly than before. Prue was beginning to get really annoyed at these demons. She tapped her power once again and sent three demons right through the nearby wall. Then, without even using a normal spell, she set all three demons on fire before turning and walking towards another only to be caught from the side by a demon which suddenly rushed her and sent her flying into the broken mirror. She cried out in pain as the sharp glass cut into her.

Suddenly, everything went quiet as a wind seemed to pick up within the house, buffering everyone inside, including the demons that looked around for the source. Then a blast of air knocked them all to the ground except for Prue, who was being tended to by Leo. Taking advantage of the fact the fighting had been temporally interrupted, he was healing her wounds. "What was that?" Faith shouted as she quickly jumped back to her feet and looked around.

"Look," Sirius shouted, pointing at the broken doorway and causing them all to turn and look, demons included. Standing in the doorway was the young man who, until recently, had been unconscious due to the beating he had taken from his relatives. Now he looked as though he had never been touched. His eyes seemed to burn with green fire while an aura of power radiated around him as he entered the room and took in the carnage.

"Harry," Lily said, almost unable to believe that her son was finally awake and was wondering how and why such unbelievable power seemed to be flowing off of him.

Three demons quickly attacked the newcomer and everyone was shocked when Harry just raised his hand and sent them flying into the opposite wall. He moved forward before raising his other hand and flicking them at the three demons, which seemed to freeze as they got back to their feet.

"What in the name of Merlin?" Remus gasped in shock as he watched Harry use magic in a way similar to the sisters.

"He's tapped into our powers Prue," Piper said, as she ran over to her eldest sister, only to be joined a second later by Phoebe. Both of them were shocked beyond belief to see their now awake cousin using their powers to fight the demons. "But how is that possible?" Phoebe asked as she watched the other demons just stare, almost as if they were stunned by what they were seeing.

"He's found it. The power he knows not," Lily told them from nearby. "This must be it. He shares the same blood as you and so he can use your powers, just as you may be able to use a wand or harness the magic that can come from a wand. Like how you set those three demons on fire without a proper spell," she explained. "He's going to need training from you in your branch of magic Prue. This is very important, do you understand?" she asked.

"I do Lily, and I promise you that we will teach him as well as find out just how I barbecued those demons. Now let's kill the rest of these demons while they're distracted," Prue answered. Turning, she thanked Leo for his help and then attacked a group of demons who were about to try and jump Harry, sending them into the path of Faith, Xander and Jessica. The three of them used their swords to make quick work of the demons.

This caused the fight to pick up once more and the demons pushed harder than ever, but they were off balance after what they had witnessed. This was only furthered when Harry summoned his wand without even thinking about it and cast slashing spells at the demons throats, killing them before he turned and went to help Sirius, who had been forced away from Remus and Tonks.

Xander attacked another demon, forcing it backwards as he ignored the pain from his arm. He knew he hadn't been touched so far so he could only guess that it was a wound Janna had taken which he was feeling. The demon counter attacked him with wild swings, all of which he easily avoided before spinning in a circle. As he came face to face with the demon again, he threw one of his stakes straight into the things heart and as it stumbled backwards, he swung his sword upwards and decapitated it.

Faith and Jessica were now side by side as they pushed two more demons backwards, towards Remus and Tonks, who quickly set the demons on fire, allowing them to take their heads off. This seemed the best way to kill them. They turned to see Amy knocked to the floor by a powerful backhand before Xander was on the demon with Janna backing him up. Another demon was sent flying past them and they turned to see Harry walk past as if in a daze, followed closely by his parents.

"Is Harry even awake?" Faith asked James. "I think so. He's just so focused on what he is doing right now," James replied, somewhat in awe of the way his son was performing. "Luckily we're in another country, so any magic used here cannot be detected by the British Ministry of Magic. America doesn't have an age limit on when you can use magic," he added.

Harry again flicked his hands out, freezing another demon as it tried to jump Prue from behind, before he brought his wand up and used the blasting curse to send it flying into the path of the already broken wall. He then used the slashing curse to finishing it off. The last few demons quickly fled, shimmering out of the house, knowing that they were no match for these newcomers and knowing the Triad would not be happy with their failure. The dead demons all burst into flames before they too vanished. Sirius coughed as he pushed himself to his feet, holding his side where he had been caught by one of the demons. Leo quickly went to his side and healed him and then proceeded to do the same for Janna and the others who had been injured during the fight.

"Is everyone alright?" Piper asked as she looked around the busted up attic. Her eyes widened in surprise as Remus began waving his wand and fixing all the broken things in the room, including the wall and mirror before sighing as everyone nodded their heads.

"What is going on, where am I?" Harry asked as he turned and faced a group of people he did not know. He recognized Sirius, Remus, and Tonks and two other people who seemed to look like his parents, but that was it. He felt a connection to the dark haired women who stood off to the side with a blond haired man, but couldn't identify it.

"Harry, how do you feel?" Sirius inquired, as he moved over and knelt in front of his godson, pleased beyond belief he was awake. "I feel fine, just slightly off balance. Especially seeing as I wake up in a strange place fighting creatures I have never seen before and I seem to be seeing things as my parents are here," Harry responded.

"You are not seeing things son," James said as he knelt in front of his son next to Sirius. "We are truly here and as to how, it's a long story, so let's all go downstairs and get comfortable while we tell it, okay?" he said.

"Remus, you better cast the Fidelius charm now, before we get into everything. Oh, and remember to tune it to Prue," Lily said to her friend, who nodded and moved to comply. "Prue, once the charm is up, only you will be able to tell people where this house is. All of those here will be able to see it, as we are already inside the house and so we will not forget where it is when we leave. Everyone outside will though," she explained as they moved to the living room.

"What about the demons. Will it affect them?" Phoebe inquired.

"I'm not too sure Phoebe," Lily responded with a frown. "It's possible, but I wouldn't let my guard down just in case," she added. "But it will stop any of our kind of witch or wizard from finding you, especially Voldemort and his followers," she continued, noting the flash of hate in Harry's eyes as she mentioned the last part.

A few minutes later, after Remus returned from casting the spell and Leo had checked Harry out, everyone sat back and Harry listened as everything was explained and long held questions were answered. Not the least of which was the most important, 'Why was Voldemort so desperate to see him dead?'

+++

(Ministry of Magic, Britain)

Cornelius Fudge sat in his office thinking over the last few weeks before shuddering at the very idea of the Dark Lord's return. He did not believe it for a minute and was certain Dumbledore was using this to cause panic and topple his government so that he could move his own people into power. He leaned back into his chair and wondered why the ‘Boy Who Lived' had agreed with the headmaster and wondered if maybe he was under the Imperious curse before shaking his head. He had already forced the Daily Prophet to release stories which made it look like Harry Potter had lost his mind. It was regrettable that this action needed to be taken, but he would allow no one, not Dumbledore or the Boy Who Lived, to cause panic in his well ordered world.

He was currently working on a plan to have one of his best supporters moved into Hogwarts under the ruse of taking on the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Once she was inside the walls of Hogwarts, she could keep a closer eye on what Dumbledore really was up to and maybe help him get the old fool removed from the school, as he had already been removed from every other position he had held. For a brief minute he entertained the idea of what if they were correct and the Dark Lord was back, as he had sometimes since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, before shaking it off as simply absurd.

+++

(Underworld)

The Triad watched as the demon burnt to ash after bringing the report that they had failed to kill the Charmed Ones once again. They had been sure that with superior numbers they would have been able to take down the sisters, but once again they had failed due to outside influences and luck on the sisters' part. According to the demon, they had backup from some very strong and well trained individuals as well as six people who were using magic of a different kind. This news intrigued them and they were going to check up on it. The last bit of news about the young man who could use the sister's powers as well as the same branch as the five new comers was disturbing to say the least. It meant that this would be a very deadly enemy and not one easily taken down.

Cole Turner stood off to the side, not really surprised that Phoebe and her sisters had survived yet again, as he knew better than most that they did not go down easily, especially if they had help. Honestly, he had to admit a part of him did not want to kill Phoebe or her sisters. In fact, truth be known, he was beginning to feel something for the youngest sister. He knew it was his human half and it seemed to be growing stronger the more he had contact with Phoebe, but he also realized that if he wanted his father's soul back, he needed to kill the sisters as he had been ordered to by the Triad. He turned and exited the cave, wondering just what he was going to do.

+++

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

Harry sat back as he tried to absorb all of the information he had just been given. To say he was shocked would have been an understatement. Learning that he had cousins he never knew existed had blown his mind, but even more than that was when he was told that they could summon the spirits of his dead parents. This along with the fact that he could tap into their personal magical skills left him trying to cope with it all. According to his mother, who had her arms around him right now, a feeling he enjoyed to no end, this was the power Voldemort knew not. He did not know how he truly felt about the prophecy as he did not believe that much in divination. Although, considering what had happened in his third year, he should give it more credence. Two things were currently at the forefront of his mind and he finally spoke up.

"Did Dumbledore know about the Halliwells being my cousins?" he inquired. "He told me the only relatives I had were the Dursleys," he added.

"I'm not too sure Harry, it's possible he could have found out about our connection to them, but I doubt that if he did, he would have sent you to them," James answered hesitantly. "Why wouldn't he?" Harry shot back, a little angry.

"One, I think he would want to keep you in Britain no matter what and two, I think he wanted to make sure you would not grow up too confident in your abilities so that he could guide you more easily when you arrive at Hogwarts," James answered. "I do not believe he knew how abusive the Dursley's were to you Harry. He has a very unique view of the world and he can't fathom a family mistreating one of its own," he added.

"And if he did know how they treated him?" Sirius inquired. "I find it difficult to believe he would allow Harry to be beaten like that Sirius," James replied with a troubled look on his face. However, they all noted the deadly look on Lily's face.

"If he did know, he will pay," Lily spat. She felt enraged at the very idea that the old headmaster could do such a thing to her son. "But this is all speculation. For now, let's keep to what we do know," she added a few seconds later, to which everyone nodded.

"Do you really believe my ability to use the sisters' powers is the power the prophecy speaks of, that can destroy Voldemort?" Harry asked his second most prominent question.

"I really do Harry," Lily answered, pulling her son a little closer. She reveled in the feeling of finally being so close to him. She had long mourned the fact that she would never be allowed to even hug her son when she was killed and yet now, thanks to the sisters here, she could. "It is a power Voldemort does not know or even understand and not only can you use it as we all saw, but you have teachers who will help you understand it as well," she explained.

"Voldemort used some of Harry's blood to resurrect himself. Does that mean he may be able to tap into their powers as well?" Remus inquired, noting that Xander and his friends seemed very interested in everything they were learning.

"No, that blood link would have been lost once the spell was completed," Lily answered confidently. "So you won't have to worry about that," she added to which the sisters breathed a sigh of relief. The idea of this Voldemort creep having access to their powers was frightening.

More questioned were asked as the day wore on before Sirius, Remus and Tonks were forced to leave, saying Dumbledore and the rest of the Order would get suspicious if they did not show up soon. Harry hugged them all and thanked them for truly caring about him before they left. Everyone else returned to the living room and sat back down.

"During the fight Janna was injured in the arm," Xander spoke up, breaking the silence that settled. "I felt it as if I myself had been injured. The bond seems to be growing as well as getting stronger," he informed everyone.

"This is going to be a problem Alex. If one of you gets either knocked unconscious or badly hurt..." Jessica spoke up, leaving the consequences unaired. While Faith looked concerned, inside she was fighting her own fears and insecurities about losing Xander fully to Janna. She knew none of this was either of their fault, but she resented them both all the same, even though she knew she shouldn't.

"I know. We really need to find out just how this bond was formed and how it's connecting us," Xander replied as Janna leaned her head on his shoulder. Both of them missed the flash of anger that appeared in Faith's eyes as she did so.

"I'll get back to looking through the book," Prue said in response. She wondered just how far this trinity spell they had performed had gone in creating this bond in the first place. "Maybe we can find some answers with our own magic?" Lily offered with a small smile to which Xander and Janna nodded their thanks.

+++

(12 Grimmauld Place, London)

When Sirius, Remus and Tonks returned to headquarters, they found most of the Order already in the kitchen and in the middle of a very tense looking meeting. The three of them exchanged looks before joining the others. "Where the hell have you three been?" Kingsley Shacklebolt asked as he looked the three over.

"We were just taking a walk in the country, outside of prying eyes Kingsley, seeing as I can't be seen in London or the Alley thanks to my fugitive status," Sirius quickly answered. "I told you before that I do not like been cooped up in this house and I will go out for some air when I want. Remember that this is my house you lot are using," he reminded them with a frown. He was pleased to note that Snape was not in attendance.

"Sirius, I had good reasons for requesting you stay inside. All it would take is one person to recognize you and the Ministry will be up in arms and scouring the countryside for you. This would make it harder for us to move as most of those here would be watched all the more closely," Dumbledore spoke up from the head of the table.

"I will not be made a prisoner in my own house, Albus! Is that clear?" Sirius growled. "I will take my chances, damn the consequences," he added.

"Before this becomes another argument, what is going on and why are so many of you in such a state?" Tonks inquired trying to move the topic away from them.

"Potter's gone missing from Privet Drive," Alistor ‘Mad Eye' Moody spoke up from her side, his magical eye turning towards her. "The Dursleys say he ran away, but that is impossible as we've been watching that house closely since the end of last term," he added.

"Did you check the house?" Remus inquired, making sure to sound worried. It would do no good for him to sound like he didn't care, especially in front of the headmaster.

"We did, but there was no sign of him," Moody answered. "His trunk, his owl and the rest of his things are all missing and there were no signs of any magic that we could detect," he informed them.

"Then where is my godson and how in the hell did you lot manage to lose him?" Sirius shouted, standing up and banging his fist into the table, playing up his anger and outrage for their benefit.

"That is a very good question Sirius," Dumbledore stated, folding his hands together. "I want you all, bar Sirius, to begin searching for Harry. He must be found and returned either to the Dursleys or here to headquarters as soon as possible," he ordered. He then watched as the whole group left to begin their search. "As for you Sirius, I want you to coordinate the search and relay all information to me at Hogwarts through the floo. Do not leave this house again until Harry is found. Is that understood?" he asked as he stood and walked over to the door.

"Fine," Sirius growled again, wondering what the headmaster was really up to as well as if he had known of the Halliwells connection to Harry. Finally he too stood and watched the headmaster leave. He stood in the hallway for a few minutes before inspiration struck him. A great way to stay in contact with Harry came to mind and he quickly headed to his room to look for the items in question, passing Kreacher, his house elf on the way.  
5\. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Note: I would like to thank my betas cbriggs1019, Inachis and Hawklan for their help in writing this chapter.

(Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry)

Albus sat at his desk with his arms folded as he thought over the missing Harry Potter. He frowned at this new development, as it put all his plans on hold until the boy was found. Without Harry, there was no way of stopping Voldemort from gaining power. How? How had the boy managed to get out of the house without his knowing? Did he accomplish it by himself or with help? Was it possible that Sirius, Remus and Tonks had helped him against his orders? 'No,' he thought, 'they would not dare to disobey me,' he concluded with a shake of his head.

He leaned back and looked across his office at the nearby table which held a variety of strange instruments by which he was able to monitor Harry. Not that anyone else knew that, but none of them were working as it seemed. Or perhaps they were somehow being blocked, though how he could not say. He sighed and closed his eyes in annoyance. He would have to rely on the Order to find Harry and bring him back. Another thought came to him and he quickly leaned forward and began writing letters to Ron, Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger. The letters alerted them of Harry's disappearance and ordered them to report any contact from Harry to him without delay. After sealing them, he sent the letters off with Fawkes.

He looked up as there was a chime indicating someone wishing to see him. He quickly opened the gargoyle which protected his office. He almost winced as he noted that his visitor was Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic and a complete and utter fool. Of course it did not help matters that he was in the pocket of Lucius Malfoy, one of Voldemort's more dangerous Death Eaters. Cornelius was followed by two Aurors as bodyguards. Dumbledore schooled his features so that he showed none of his thoughts as he smiled and welcomed Fudge. "So what brings you here Cornelius?" he inquired. "Considering your actions as of late, I was under the impression that we were no longer friends?" he added.

"I have done what is necessary Albus, to protect the people from your lies about the dark lord's supposed return," Cornelius countered with a glare. "Do you not understand the panic you could have caused? Those children to whom you told that Diggory died by Voldemort's hands went back and told their parents, causing a massive outcry of terror," he continued. "I have seen no evidence of the Dark Lord's return, only an increase in a few Death Eater attacks. Those were obviously arranged by Sirius Black in the hopes of causing just this kind of reaction and you went and did exactly want he wanted, Albus," he stated. "Well, I have put a stop to this now, before he gets out of hand. You have already lost two of your three positions and I would hate to see you lose the third, considering how much you love this school, but if you do not cease this nonsense, then that is exactly what will happen. Do you understand me?" he asked.

Albus kept his anger under control as he stared at the Minister. He felt a small pang of regret that he had not taken the position of Minister when he had been offered it. It would have made this much easier, but he loved this school far too much to simply leave it. He shook the thoughts off and wondered what it was that Cornelius wants.

"I said do you hear me, Albus?" Cornelius repeated, as he shifted slightly on his chair, a little unnerved by the old man's stare.

"Indeed, I understand Cornelius, but I warn you one last time that if I am indeed correct, you will be leaving the world wide open for Voldemort to easily take. Even if we manage to hold him off, you will be held accountable for the destruction that he will bring and be removed from office. Who knows, maybe even thrown into Azkaban," Albus stated, hoping to spark some kind of reaction from this fool.

Cornelius could not discount that argument as easily as he wanted to. He wanted to stay in power as long as he could and the old man had a point, even if he thought he was mad. 'It would not hurt to increase the budget of the Auror department and get some more Aurors recruited,' he thought with a sly smile. On the off chance there was more going on here than he believed, it would not do to be caught unawares. It also would not stop him from following through on his current plan of action.

"I will keep it in mind Albus," was all he would say. "Now, I came because I believe you are still having trouble finding a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Is that correct?" he asked, switching topics.

"I am afraid so, although I am confident I will find someone capable before the next term starts," Albus responded reluctantly. There was something in the man's eyes that he did not like the look of.

"No need to worry then Albus, as I have it solved. I have just passed a law into effect which gives the government the power to assign a teacher if the headmaster has not been able to find someone within three weeks and it has been three weeks Albus," Cornelius told him, barely able to keep the grin off his face at getting one up on the old man.

"And who will be assigned to the post?" Albus asked with dread, not liking this one bit.

"Dolores Umbridge, she is highly suited for the job," Cornelius replied. He noted the look of disgust that flashed across Dumbledore's face before he could compose himself and just nod at him in reply. Savoring his triumph over the old wizard he allowed his grin to finally slip out. "Well, that is all I wanted to say, good day Albus," he added before leaving, followed by his bodyguards.

Albus leaned back and pinched the bridge of his nose as he fought down the anger he felt at having to accept Umbridge into his school. She was one of Fudge's strongest supporters and she had a deep hatred for any who were not of pure blood. He would not have been surprised if she secretly supported Voldemort's plans. Another fact came to his attention, she would be able to spy on them all for Fudge. He cursed as he realised he would have to take steps to make sure she did not uncover the existence of the Order of the Phoenix.

+W+

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

Xander sat with his legs crossed in the attic while Prue stood nearby, looking through the Book of Shadows. He was trying to meditate. It was something he had picked up during his stay in Boston. It helped him to calm and centre himself, especially after a big fight. Harry was spending time with his parents and Piper, beginning to learn about their style of magic. Meanwhile, Phoebe was discussing their past with the others. He could feel Janna just as though she were right next to him and almost shuddered as she began to think about him. He opened his eyes, sighing because as the bond became stronger, more intense emotions and feelings passed between them. This was something he was sure Faith would not like one bit.

"You said that the three witches who did the spell were not part of a coven, right?" Prue asked from beside him. "They were just normal witches?" she added as she knelt to meet him eye to eye.

"That's correct Prue," Xander answered while trying to ignore just how attractive he thought the eldest Halliwell sister was. "Jessica, Amy and another friend of mine, Willow, did the spell, but they had no connection like the one you mentioned," he explained. "They were just the only magic users we had at the time and surprisingly enough, it worked," he added as he pushed himself to his feet. Prue rose as well while trying to think through what just had occurred.

"I'm beginning to think that there was more going on that night than you knew. It might have something to do with the date and the position of certain elements connected to magic or at least to witches. It may have boosted their powers to accomplish something like this. I mean, as powerful as we are, even on our best day I don't think we could pull something like this off," Prue stated as she went back to the book. "The Elders will not help us because they want to be morons, but there still must be some way to get information from on high," she continued before coming to a stop. "They might..." she trailed off as she went to light the candles and began the same spell she had done to summon Harry's parents.

Xander watched as there was another sparkle of lights and two women now stood in the circle. One was a younger woman who resembled the sisters and the other was an older one and he suspected she too might have a connection to the sisters. "Hello Prue," the younger woman said, as she stepped out of the circle and hugged her before being joined a second later by the older woman.

"Hey mom. I need some help," Prue said with a smile. "The Elders have cut us loose for helping our cousin out," she explained somewhat hesitantly. She was unsure how her mother and grandmother felt about their recent actions. "Don't be nervous Prue. You did the right thing," Patricia said as she noted the way her daughter looked. "The Elders are being stupid about this and I think they will realize that, given time," she added.

"I agree Patty," Penelope said with a scowl on her face. "The Elders can be petty when they want to, if they aren't getting their way. Harry is family and we Halliwells do not abandon family," she stated firmly, before turning to face Xander. "And who is this?" she asked.

"This is Xander. He and his friends came here for help, but ended up helping us instead," Prue introduced them with a smile. "It seems three of his friends are witches and they performed a trinity spell. It seems to have first brought someone back from the dead and then created a bond between her and Xander himself. It also seems that the bond is getting stronger the more time passes," she explained. "What I do know is that the three witches involved were not part of a coven, so I believe something else caused this. The problem is I don't know what and I don't know what to look for in the book," she added.

Patricia and Penelope Halliwell were surprised by this, but could see why Prue was somewhat stumped. This was way beyond anything they had encountered before. "We'll have a look around upstairs Prue and talk to some people we know and see if we can find anything out. For now though, concentrate on the bond they share," Patricia advised. "The Book has plenty on magical bonds, if I remember correctly," she added.

"I agree. But we'll have to be careful with our search, so it may take some time," Penelope said with a nod of her head. "Thanks for your help," Xander said. Prue hugged the two women before they turned and smiled at him before vanishing in a flash of lights. "Your mother and grandmother?" he questioned.

"Yes, both powerful witches in their time and they look out for us from time to time," Prue said with a smile. Mustering her resolve, she again turned back to the Book of Shadows and started looking for the pages on mystical bonds as her mother had suggested. Xander stood at her side and watched as she flipped through the musty tome.

+W+

(Underworld)

Cole Turner sat in his cave working on his new plan to try and destroy the Charmed Ones, while also trying to ignore his human half, which wanted nothing to do with it. His human half, which had been dormant for the last century, had recently awoken thanks to his contact with the youngest sister Phoebe. It seemed to be getting stronger and was becoming more of a distraction from his goal of recovering his father's soul which the Triad now had, courtesy of the Source.

He rubbed his forehead in annoyance at this, because he knew if his human half got any stronger, then his resolve to get the job done was going to get weaker and weaker. It might even start to jeopardize his position in the underworld and put him at risk of being eliminated by the Source for his weakness. If that were to occur, then his father's soul would be lost forever. He shifted into Balthazar to force his human half deeper into his subconscious, hoping it would help him concentrate on his new plans for the sisters. All the while he was unaware that he was being watched by another demon in the employ of the Triad.

+W+

(Unknown Location)

The shadows played on his face as he went over the latest reports and frowned. The disappearance of the Potter boy from his relatives' care complicated matters. He needed for the boy to remain where he was and then return to Hogwarts where he could continue to manipulate all of his enemies from afar with none the wiser. He leaned back in his chair as he wondered just how the boy could have escaped from under the watch of the Order of the Phoenix without being seen. The invisibility cloak the child possessed would not have helped him, as all the members of the Order had spells on them to help them see through its illusion.

The reports on the Dark Lord were incomplete, although he suspected what he would be doing very soon, especially in regards to Dumbledore and his followers. He almost laughed at this thought before pushing it away and decided to wait and see what would happen in the next few days and also to see if the Order would indeed locate the boy.

+W+

(Malfoy Manor)

Draco Malfoy was not having a good week. Scratch that. Draco Malfoy was not having a good year. At first, he believed he would enjoy the fact that the Dark Lord Voldemort had returned, but that had soon changed when his father had become more abusive in his treatment of both him and his mother. That of course was when he could spare the time. Almost all of his time along with his money and talents were spent in carrying out the Dark Lord's plans. His father had beaten him severely for even daring to hint that he might not want to take the mark when his time came. His mother had suffered along with him as she had never taken the mark and his father blamed her for indulging their son too much. She was considered less than her sister Bellatrix, who was at the moment imprisoned in Azkaban, being haunted by the Dementors. Although, if what he heard his father discussing with McNair was true, that would not be the case for much longer.

He did not know what to do, but he knew he had to try something to get himself and his mother out of this mess. Neither of them would survive staying without taking the mark and doing as the Dark Lord commanded them to. Neither wanted that forced on them, especially his mother who, while believing pure bloods were stronger than half bloods and Muggle born, did not believe in massacring them or wiping them off the face of the earth. He was beginning to see her point of view finally after all this time, especially after seeing what Potter and Granger had done since going to Hogwarts. Both were strong magic wise and both were smart, especially Granger. As for Harry Potter? He had defied Voldemort more times than he could count. Every attempt by the Dark Lord to return to life or kill Potter had been stopped. Potter had escaped and Draco felt that proved half bloods and Muggle born could be the equals of pure bloods. Even his own father, the patriarch of the supposed purists of blood lines, failed to win against Potter and had been shown up time and time again.

No, his old views had been burned away quite forcibly and now he found himself seeing the world for what it truly was and not just as his father had raised him to see it as. He took a deep breath as he sat at his desk and plotted out how he might save both himself and his mother. Good ideas seemed to constantly elude him as he tried again and again to find some way free. Hours passed before finally, a new idea came to mind that might just work. He quickly began to scrawl out a letter, hoping against hope it would not be rejected out of hand by the person he intended it to go to.

+W+

(12 Grimmauld Place, London)

Sirius chuckled as he finally located the charmed mirrors he and James had used when they had attended Hogwarts. He had a lot of good memories from those days. They had used the mirrors to talk and plan out their pranks. Now, he would use them to keep in touch with Harry, whilst he was with his cousins. He sat down and thought over all that he had learned today and it blew his mind. Harry had more family, and that new family would both love him and help him when he needed it, unlike those accursed Dursleys. He would deal with them later for their actions against his godson, but for now he had more important things to worry about.

He was concerned about Dumbledore's recent actions concerning Harry, especially in keeping him locked away from people who could have helped him recover from witnessing a fellow student's murder, the resurrection of his parents' murderer and then battling that monster. He had been thinking about this a great deal and still he did not know what the old man expected. He doubted Harry, had he not been rescued by the sisters, would have been very happy with the old man for keeping him from talking to even his friends. Then again, the fact that all of them agreed to not send Harry any mail had angered him. He knew that given the same situation, he, James, Remus and Lily would not have listened to the old man and done it in secret, if necessary.

He was also concerned about what Malfoy and his cronies were up to. All were dangerous individuals in their own right and all of them had grudges against his godson for a multitude of reasons. He felt slightly tired right now when he thought of fighting a new war, but he was determined to do his part to help and ensure that his godson survived to live his own life. Maybe even have a chance at raising his own family. He frowned as a house elf he did not recognise popped into the room. The elf appeared slightly nervous about being here.

"Can I help you?" he asked calmly, as he had nothing against house elves, bar Kreacher. "I bring a letter from Mistress Narcissa and Master Draco. I was told it was very important that you read it and not dismiss it out of hand," the elf responded, shaking slightly.

Sirius frowned at the answer, not sure how to take this turn of events. He had once been very close with his cousin Narcissa. That was, until she agreed to marry Lucius Malfoy at his aunt's demand. Still, he had a soft spot for her and as the head of the House of Black he guessed that he should read the letter just in case. But before he accepted the letter, he ran his wand over it to make sure that it was not a portkey and was relieved to find it was not.

When he finished reading it, he was shocked, angered and somewhat relieved to know his cousin was not lost to him and that he could finally do something to get her out from under Malfoy's thumb. Even if it meant bringing his nephew in as well, but Draco had sworn he would perform a magical vow once he was pulled out that he meant no harm to him, Harry or anyone else. He had things to do and so he quickly left after telling the elf to notify his mistress and master to be ready.

+W+

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

Harry continued to listen to Piper as she explained her branch of magic. He was surprised and excited by what he was learning. His parents stood behind him and while he was still getting used to that, he couldn't help but smile at the thought of it. He looked up as Prue and Xander entered the kitchen, quickly followed by the others.

"Have you found anything yet?" Piper asked, stopping her lecture and facing her eldest sister. "We found quite a lot on magical bonds, but nothing yet that matches the type of bond between Xander and Janna," Prue responded, as she began to make everyone some tea. "I asked for some help from mom and grams, but it may take some time as they said that they'll have to be careful so as not to alert the Elders about what they are doing," she told them. "How are things going down here?" she asked.

"I've explained what we know of our powers to Harry along with most of the other stuff involved in our craft. I've also set up a training schedule that we'll start following tomorrow. Phoebe will be teaching him potions, as she has no active power, and we will be teaching him how to both access and control our powers. That includes your ability to astral project and my ability to blow things up, which I am sure he will find a way to access after a while," Piper answered. "We'll all train him in casting spells using our form of magic and in return Harry will teach us his brand of magic with some help from Lily and James, when they have time. I'm not sure if we need wands yet, but we'll find out soon enough and Lily has already told me where we can go to get some here if necessary," she continued.

"Wicked!" Phoebe said and was excited at the idea of learning a new branch of magic, which could help them in their struggles.

"This is going to take some time, but we cannot rush it," Piper stated as Prue handed out the tea. "We'll be under the gun as Harry has insisted that he must go back to Hogwarts at the start of the new term, no matter what," she added. "Why?" Prue inquired

"First, because I need to check in on my friends and second, so I can try and create some kind of counter to Voldemort, who we know will not stop until one of us is dead. Third, so that I can try and find out the truth about whether Dumbledore knew of my connection to you or not," Harry spoke up. "I'm unsure if I can trust him after everything I've learned, so I need to find out for certain. I also need to see how the rest of the magical world is taking things as I have had no contact with anyone but Remus, Sirius and Tonks and they didn't go into anything about what has happened lately," he added.

"Then that gives us two months to get you up to speed, Harry," Prue said, as she remembered when James said the new term started. "We'll have to cram as much into those two months as we can," she added as she took a deep gulp of her drink.

"We'll be helping as well. We can get him into shape and train him in both the use of weapons and hand to hand combat, should he happen to lose his wand," Xander offered with a smile. "It would take those purebloods by surprise if you used weapons that they consider to be no threat to take them down, right?" he asked.

"I'll say," Harry replied with a wicked smile at the thought. This was shared by James, whilst Lily did not look altogether convinced, but had to admit that it would be helpful in the war to come.  
6\. Chapter 6

Note: I would like to thank my betas cbriggs1019, Inachis and Hawklan for their help with this chapter.

Chapter 6

(12 Grimmauld Place, London)

Sirius smirked as he returned to his family home, still imagining the look of shock, anger and hate which would soon be seen on Lucius Malfoy's face. What he wouldn't give to be there when Lucius received the documents he just got through signing. Firstly it dissolved his marriage to Narcissa due to breach of contract, then it took back the dowry from Malfoy's own vault, and finally made Draco a Black by blood, removing that accursed Malfoy title from his name. It meant that unless Lucius married and sired another child, his family would die out as far as the magical world was concerned.

He quickly summoned Kreacher and gave him two portkeys to deliver to Narcissa and Draco, making sure the elf knew this was Black family business and he could not do anything to disrupt it or he would shame his family name and would never earn his place next to his ancestors. He nodded as the elf bowed and accepted the task without a single insult before popping out. He smirked again as he walked into the kitchen and made himself a cup of hot coffee and sat down, awaiting the chaos this would cause. He felt a wince as he wished James were here to share in this before he remembered the mirrors. Quickly he went and wrapped one of them up and sent it off with his owl.

(Malfoy Manor)

Draco paced in front of his mother, awaiting his uncle's reply to his letter. The elf he had sent had returned only to tell them to be ready. But, ready for what exactly? He did not know and he was nervously waiting just in case his father returned. However unlikely that was. His mother had just smiled and told him not to underestimate Sirius as he was as unpredictable as he was clever, and she was sure that whatever he came up with would be both inventive, as well as destructive.

This eased Draco's tension somewhat, so he took a seat and tried to relax as he wondered just what Potter would say once he learned of this. He doubted they would ever be friends, but then stranger things had been known to happen. He was also worried about what would happen once he returned to Hogwarts, but he believed his uncle would deal with that once they were out of here. He and his mother both looked up as an old, yet alert house elf popped into the manor.

"Hello Kreacher," Narcissa said as she recognised the elf that she had not seen since she had attended her aunt's funeral. "I take it you bring word from Sirius?" she asked.

"I do, Mistress Black," Kreacher responded, bowing low to the woman before handing over the portkeys. "Master says to use these. The activation word is Revenge," he added before popping out as he had been ordered.

Narcissa smirked at her cousin's chosen word, believing it would be used quite a lot once the war truly kicked off. She stood and retrieved the bags she had packed, as did Draco, before handing him his portkey. Then they both said the activation word and vanished from the manor. Both were wondering just what Lucius would do once he realised that he had lost not only his wife and son, but half his fortune as well, which Narcissa had transferred into a new vault under an alternate name.

+W+

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

Harry looked up as an owl flew into the manor house through an open window, carrying a package which he carefully checked before removing and opening it only to find a mirror as well as a small note attached. He smiled as he noted that it was from Sirius. He got up and grabbed some leftover food and some water for the owl before settling down and reading the note. The note said that the mirror was a way to speak with Sirius over the long distance and instructed him how to activate it. Harry said the activation word and watched in wonder as Sirius's face appeared and smiled at him.

"Hello Harry," he said. "I decided that we needed another way to talk so no one will get suspicious of us always disappearing from this place. Your father and I used these mirrors in Hogwarts to plan our pranks and to discuss other matters," he explained. "I've got some news you're going to find shocking, so don't say I didn't warn you kiddo," he went on.

"Why, what's happened?" Harry asked as he noted Xander enter the room along with the others.

"Draco and his mother, my cousin Narcissa, have left Lucius and will be turning up here in a few minutes. I have signed documents which will break her marriage with Lucius as well as get back the money he received when he married her. Furthermore, it will claim Draco as a Black instead of a Malfoy, which means that unless Lucius has another child, his family line dies out when he does," Sirius informed him with a very wicked smile. "And don't worry Harry, both have promised to take magical vows that they mean no harm to you or the rest of us. Draco is no longer your enemy Harry, in fact he could be a very useful ally," he advised.

"Wow," was all Harry could say in reply as he tried to absorb this bit of news.

This was the last thing he expected to hear to have happened and he wondered just what had caused Draco to change. He had always seemed to believe in the Dark Lord's cause, no matter what. And yet, Harry had to wonder if maybe it had been more out of fear of his father that he had acted the way he had. Harry guessed that with a war on the horizon, things were bound to change for a lot of people and it would force all of them to make tough decisions. Draco and his mother had done just that, so he felt he could do the same and promised himself that the next time he and Draco met, it would not be as enemies.

"I understand Sirius. Thanks for telling me this," he finally spoke up. "I think this will not be the last shock we will see," he added.

"Neither do I Harry, neither do I. There was a lot of this the last time around. People changed sides or they took up a side which we never expected them to," Sirius said with a dark undertone to his voice. "Keep your eyes open when Draco returns, Harry. Some people who you may think are friends can turn out not to be. Even your best friends, just remember Pettigrew," he warned him.

Harry swallowed hard as he fought the hatred that name brought to him before pushing it away. "I will Sirius, I promise. I'll be in touch. Take care and say hi to Remus and Tonks for me," he added with a forced smile.

"I'll keep you up to date kid. Until later," Sirius responded before signing off and Harry put the mirror down.

"What's that?" Phoebe inquired. Piper stepped forward and pulled Harry into a hug as she noted his distress.

"It is a magical mirror used to talk to people over long distances," James said from the side. "Sirius and I brought them to our second year at Hogwarts. They're very handy," he added as Lily went and joined her son and Piper.

"What Sirius said was true Harry, but do not let it drag you into a depression," Lily advised her son. "You need to keep as positive as you can, no matter what happens. It is vital that you do not lose hope or the ability to trust in your friends," she continued.

"Your mother is right Harry. I lost the ability to trust when... when my friends betrayed me. Even after that, I was willing to at least try and reach out to new people and I even managed to reforge some of my former friendships," Xander stated. His voice betrayed a lingering undercurrent of bitterness as he remembered those times. "Trust is a fragile thing, but it is an important part of survival," he added.

"I'll remember," Harry promised. He leaned against his mother and Piper, trying to soak in their love for him, hoping it would help block out the darker thoughts lurking within his mind.

+W+

(Riddle Manor)

Lucius Malfoy walked into the audience chamber of his master, wondering what new plan the Dark Lord had for him to carry out. He knew they were still trying to recover a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, although he had no clue what it was about. It was not his place to guess and he knew the Dark Lord did not want too many of his followers to know either.

"Ah Lucius," a voice slithered from the shadows making him shiver as he bowed low. "You are late," the voice added with a hint of venom. Before Lucius could utter an excuse the voice spoke again. "Crucio!"

He fell to the floor screaming in pain as the curse hit him and seemed to seek out every nerve in his body. He could neither see nor speak to beg for his master's mercy, even if he knew his lord would heed no such words. Finally, after five excruciating minutes, the curse was lifted and he could draw breathe normally as he felt the pain begin to recede.

"Do not be late again Lucius or I will not be as lenient next time," Lord Voldemort warned him. He seemed to appear from the void as he strode out of the shadows followed by his pet snake Nagini.

"Yes my lord," Lucius managed to stutter out before pushing himself to his knees. "How may I serve you, master?" he inquired.

"I want you to start planning for an assault on Azkaban," Voldemort responded. "I want to retrieve my more useful servants and maybe recruit the other prisoners there, as well as the Dementors themselves," he added.

Lucius just managed to stop himself from gritting his teeth as the Dark Lord spoke his reply. Even after everything he had done during the first war. Even with all his efforts since he had rejoined the Dark Lord, he was still belittled by his master at every turn. The only thing that kept him in the top ranks of the Death Eaters was his vast fortune. He calmed himself and made sure he did not let any hint of his anger creep into his voice when he replied.

"Of course my lord. I will begin immediately," he responded. "How long do I have, my lord?" he inquired.

"Three months Lucius then I want to strike," Voldemort answered before sending him on his way. He motioned Severus Snape, who had just entered the chamber, to come forth. "What news Severus?" he commanded.

"Harry Potter is missing my lord, and the old man has commanded the entire Order to search for him. No one is quite sure how he escaped from his relatives home, not even Dumbledore himself," Snape responded, trying his best not to let his true feelings show. "The Minister is planning to interfere in Hogwarts and is keeping Dumbledore distracted from focusing his full attention elsewhere. He suspects nothing of your current plans," he added.

"Excellent," Voldemort said with what could be almost thought of as a smile. The sight of it made Snape shiver just looking at it. "Send out a search party to look for Potter. Have them check the most likely places he would go to. And Severus, try and get any information about what Dumbledore plans for the boy," he commanded.

"As you command my lord," Severus responded with a bow before turning and stalking out of the chamber. After getting far enough away from the Dark Lord's presence he finally let out the breath he had been holding. It was what he always did when facing the Dark Lord as he always feared Voldemort would finally manage to break through his Occlumency shields and see the truth. He would execute him after what he was sure would be a very long torture session if he ever did break them.

+W+

(12 Grimmauld Place, London)

Sirius stood as Narcissa and Draco appeared in the hallway and quickly locked down the house, making sure no one, not even the Order, could get in until he had dealt with this. He knew Dumbledore was not going to like their presence here, but this was not his business, it was Black family business, and that was his to deal with. He would deal with the headmaster's objections later on as he was sure he would have to with objections from people like Moody and Kingsley. He smiled as he greeted Narcissa, pleased to see she actually looked healthy.

"Thank you for choosing to help us Sirius," Narcissa said with a smile of her own. "I know you must have thought of hundreds of reasons to not reply. That we were trying to lure you into a trap, but I am happy beyond measure to know you ignored them," she went on as they broke the hug.

"It wasn't hard Narcissa," Sirius responded. "We used to be so close before you married that piece of shit. I was ready to take any chance to finally get you away from him, along with a parting shot at him," he added.

"What else did you do?" Narcissa inquired with a lifted eyebrow.

"I first claimed back your dowry from his vaults, just after I dissolved your marriage for breach of contract. He did breach it, as by now you were supposed to have had three children and one of them was supposed to have been a girl. But, I'm sure that once you had Draco, he had no wish to sire any more, did he?" Sirius answered.

"No, he did not," Narcissa said, angered by her ex-husband's deceit. "Was that it?" she asked after pushing her anger aside.

"Of course not. You should know me better than that Cissy. I also claimed Draco as a Black and removed him from the Malfoy family line. So now if Lucius dies, so does the Malfoy bloodline he cares so much for. That is unless he sires another child somehow and I doubt he will after a few more choice moves I have planned," Sirius said laughing, just thinking about his next moves.

"That is truly inspired Sirius" Narcissa said, laughing herself. "I'm pleased to see you haven't lost your edge from your time spent in Azkaban. I knew you were not guilty of the crimes you were charged with, but I could do nothing about it," she added.

"I know Cissy," Sirius assured her. "Draco, I have already informed Harry of this change and made it clear you are no longer his enemy. I would suggest that when you next meet you do try and form some kind of friendship. If not that, then an alliance, because the only way we're going survive what is to come is by working together," he said finally turning to his nephew.

"I understand Uncle," Draco nodded, knowing it was more than just a suggestion. He had to admit that his uncle had a point and maybe, if he could forge some kind of friendship with Potter, things might turn out for the better for him. "I'll do what I can to help," he added. "Uncle, I can't stay in Slytherin house now. The other children of Death Eaters will either kill me or capture me and send me to Voldemort the first chance they get, no matter what," he voiced his main fear.

"Don't worry about it Draco. I plan to deal with the headmaster later on, once I have you both settled down," Sirius responded, pleased to see that his nephew was showing some brains, finally. "Now first, if you would perform you magical vows?" he asked and watched as first Narcissa and then Draco both made their vows, ensuring they could be trusted. "Kreacher," he summoned his elf.

"Yes Master," Kreacher said as he bowed again, not voicing his usual insults in front of Narcissa and Draco.

"Please prepare two rooms for Narcissa and Draco and then place their belongings in them if you will," he commanded.

"Yes Master," Kreacher nodded in understanding and then walked off with the luggage Narcissa and Draco had brought floating along behind him.

"I'm surprised Kreacher is still alive," Narcissa commented as they watched.

"Well, he is and he's a little off in the head. He takes orders from my mother's portrait and he likes to insult everyone most of the time," Sirius stated. "I think the only reason he's quieted down is because he views you as proper Blacks and I made him understand what was going on was important Black family business. I also told him if he messed it up, he would never get his place on the family rack," he added, pointing to the rack which held the decapitated heads of Kreacher's family.

"This place hasn't changed since I was last here," Narcissa said in disgust at the sight.

"He hasn't bothered to clean it and we haven't had much chance to since we moved in here. Now, we may as well catch up and have something to eat while we wait," Sirius said as he led them into the kitchen.

+W+

(San Francisco, a month later)

Harry ran alongside Xander and Prue as he had for the last four weeks. These runs were the beginning of his day, helping to get him in shape, and he had to admit it had worked great. He had never felt better in his life than he did right now. He could run for quite a length of time before he had to stop and catch his breath. Xander and Prue liked to join him as they were both keen joggers and liked to stay healthy. Sometimes Phoebe, Faith and Janna joined them, but mostly it was just the three of them. He enjoyed these moments as he felt so free. Granted, he wore a pendant which masked his presence from anyone looking for him, but he still felt like he did when he flew free and without a care in the world. They normally ran all the way to the entrance of the magical alley in the city before turning back and they were now closing in on that target.

In the last month he had learned how to control some of his cousins' powers, although he was still having trouble with astral projecting and Phoebe's premonitions. Meanwhile his cousins were all able to use wands, although strangely Prue didn't seem to need one to access Harry's type of magic and so far none of them had been able to find out why. He had learned a hell of a lot about potions, thanks to Phoebe's lessons, and he could hardly wait to go back to Hogwarts and show Snape what he had learned. Prue and her sisters were still having trouble locating what had caused the bond between Xander and Janna and he had noted there was an increasing tension between Xander, Janna and Faith, especially Faith.

Still, the three groups had managed to form a team which could take on the demons who continued to try and attack his cousins regularly. They didn't know who was behind the attacks, but they were sure they would find out soon enough, as usually the leaders would get annoyed by their lackeys' failures and try and kill them themselves. Harry was conflicted. Part of him wanted to stay and help protect his new family, but the larger part of him wanted to destroy Voldemort. He sighed and shook that thought off just as they turned into the alley leading to the magical entrance for White Valley, the magical shopping district in San Francisco. It was twice the size of Diagon Alley and had a lot more shops.

A scream stopped them in their tracks and looking around they noted four Death Eaters attacking a tall blond haired teenager. Harry instantly recognized her after catching sight of her face and he pulled his wand before charging into the fight, ignoring the protests from Xander and Prue. Both just looked at each other, sighed and shook their heads, then followed, wishing Harry would learn not to rush headlong into danger. Harry got within a few feet from where the blond was just barely holding off the Death Eaters before he raised his hands and sent all four of them into the wall. A dagger passed his head and embedded itself into one Death Eater's chest as he tried to stand up again.

"Harry?" the blond blinked in shocked surprise at her rescuer as she looked up and noted help had finally arrived.

Harry did not respond and waved his hand again freezing two of the Death Eaters as they came back at him, while Prue tackled the last one with a combination of kicks and punches. The Death Eater was not equipped to counter this as he did not believe muggles could fight back. Xander calmly walked over and tore the hoods off them, exposing their faces.

"Crabbe and Goyle senior," Harry stated. He recognized them from the graveyard at Voldemort's resurrection. "Hello Fleur, how have you been?" he asked the blond witch as he helped her up.

"Harry, it is you," Fleur said happily before bending down and kissing him on both cheeks. Dazed, Harry had no time to respond before Fleur grabbed him and pulling him into a deep kiss of thanks. Fleur just managed to repress a giggle at Harry's flustered state whilst Prue didn't and laughed at her cousins' reaction to being kissed so thoroughly.

"I take it this is a friend of yours Harry?" Prue inquired, giggling again, much to Harry's chagrin.

"Yes, this is Fleur Delacour," Harry answered. "Fleur, this is my cousin Prue and my friend Xander. Fleur came to Hogwarts last year to take part in the tournament I mentioned," he added, his eyes darkening slightly as he tried to block out the sight of Cedric dying.

"Why were they after you, Miss Delacour?" Xander inquired politely as he tied up the three remaining Death Eaters and knocked them unconscious.

"They want to force the Veela to join their Dark Lord's ranks and so they are trying to kidnap high ranking daughters of the Veela communities. I must warn my family that my sister is in danger," Fleur answered.

"Don't worry Fleur, we'll help you," Harry assured his friend as he walked up to the two Death Eaters who had seen his face and pointed his wand at them and he quickly obliviated their memory of him being in America from their minds. "Let's head back so we can plan our next move," he added as he looked around before heading out. He was followed by Fleur, Prue and finally Xander, who took up the rear.

+W+

(Riddle Manor an hour later)

Voldemort looked up as McNair and Avery returned, pushing Crabbe and Goyle and one of the rookies into the chamber. He sneered as he noted the missing Witch they were sent to capture.

"My lord, we went to check on these fools as ordered when they failed to return. One of their numbers was dead and they were all trussed up. However there was no sign as to who had stopped them from completing their task," McNair reported.

"Fools!" Voldemort roared. "How is it you were bested by one teenage witch?" he asked with a dangerous tone to his voice.

"My lord, she had help," the new rookie shouted, missing the undertone in the Dark Lord's voice.

"Help from whom?" Voldemort asked. "Who would dare to attack my forces?" he asked.

"I do not know my lord, we didn't see their faces," the rookie replied, faltering slightly at the look in the Dark Lord's eyes as he stared at him.

"Legilimens," the Dark Lord shouted as he pointed his wand at Goyle and began to search through his memories of the attack before realising his servants had been obliviated. Angered, he pushed harder only to see the faded image of green eyes staring at him. "Potter," he snarled, knowing of no other who had such eyes and that would dare defy him. He pulled out of Goyle's mind as he considered this information.

'What was the boy doing in America and was he still there? Was there any point in sending a search party?' No, he decided he would not waste the effort. "Avada Kedavra," he hissed and watched with no small part of pleasure as the rookie died. "Do not fail me again, Crabbe, Goyle, you already try my patience," he warned before dismissing them.  
7\. chapter 7

Chapter 7

Note: I would like to thank my betas cbriggs1019, Inachis and Hawklan for their help with this chapter.

 

(Malfoy Manor)

 

Lucius Malfoy sat in his study downing his third whiskey, as he was trying to decide how to proceed with his masters orders while at the same time attempting to ignore the anger and humiliation he still felt at what his wife and son had done to him a month before.

 

He had come home to find both missing and then he had received a huge package from Gringotts. What he found inside sent him into a fury and he had killed two of his house elves. He wanted nothing more than to find Narcissa and Draco and torture them for a long period of time before killing them. He was a laughing stock within the Death Eater ranks right now and the most maddening thing was that she had stolen much of his fortune. Sirius Black had also managed to take the dowry back he had received when he married Narcissa which further cut into his remaining fortune. The biggest shock was learning Draco was no longer a Malfoy as far as the wizarding world was concerned. He now had no heir thanks to Black's interference and he didn't know what to do.

 

He had no wish to sire another baby. His patience had been strained with Draco, who had cried so often he had felt like using the killing curse on him many a time just to shut him up. The only reason he had not was because of needing an heir to carry on the bloodline and now Draco had thrown that all away. Voldemort had learned of all this as well and had not been pleased in the least. He had been put under the pain curse for some time as a result, and he wanted revenge for what they had done to him and to his position within the Dark Lords ranks and one day he would have it.

 

For now, all he could do was continue to make sure the plan to break into Azkaban had no flaws, as another failure would lead to his death for sure. The Dark Lord was still angry that his plans to force the Veela into joining him had been defeated by Potter somehow. All the Veela clans were now on alert for the Death Eaters and were prepared to fight, and it was doubtful they would catch any of their children on their own. Three rookies had paid the price already for this set back and he would be damned if he was going to be next. He sighed and finished his drink before getting back to work.

 

+W+

 

(12 Grimmauld Place, London)

 

Sirius stood up as Draco continued his lessons in Occlumency, something he would need when he went back to Hogwarts. He had also put Harry onto it to help keep Voldemort out of his head. Narcissa was off to one side, reading one of the books from the Black library. A fight had ensued between her and Molly Weasley, who had tried to throw out many of the books. However, Narcissa had reminded Molly this was not her home and she could not just throw things out as she pleased and Sirius had sided with his cousin. He didn't agree with many of the headmasters plans on how to fight this war. Dumbledore seemed to want to stray away from confronting the Death Eaters with lethal force as they had done during the first war and it confused Sirius as to why.

 

He seemed so different to the man who had led them to such heights during the first war, the man who had foiled so many of the Dark Lord's plans and had killed some of the enemy's best fighters. He had argued for the Aurors to be allowed to use any and all means to take the fight to the enemy and this had been granted. And yet now it seemed he had no fight left in him and this worried Sirius and made him fear for all their chances of survival, especially Harry's. 

 

Sirius was still not on great terms with the headmaster after the huge argument they'd had when he had learnt of Narcissa and Draco being at headquarters and no matter what he had said, the old man had tried ordering him to send them away or back to Lucius. Well, he was not going to have that and stated in no uncertain terms that they would stay. They were his family and they had chosen to leave Lucius and his beliefs behind. As such, it was his duty to help them and he would not turn his back on them. The old man had then tried to switch tactics and proposed to use Draco as a spy at Hogwarts, but both he and Narcissa had clearly stated that that was not going to happen, as firstly Draco would be moved to Gryffindor house so he would be protected from the children of the Death Eaters who Dumbledore refused to expel, and secondly he would not be forced to do anything he did not want to do.

 

Dumbledore had left angry and had only been back to headquarters for meetings, which Narcissa attended, again after much arguing from the other members of the order, bar Tonks, who was willing to give her aunt a chance and Remus who knew Narcissa was no killer and was willing to trust the oath she had sworn. Moody and Severus had also been okay with this, much to Sirius's surprise, and eventually the rest had given up, although Molly kept trying to order his cousin around and threatened her whenever she was near her children, much to his and Narcissa's annoyance. Narcissa had brought some fresh ideas to the order's meetings, but most of them had been dismissed by Dumbledore as too risky. The fact Harry was still missing was also a major concern for the Order and Sirius had to stop himself laughing every time it was brought up so as not to give himself and the others away.

 

His cousin and nephew also knew the truth of Harry's whereabouts, having been in the same room when Harry had contacted him with the mirrors one day, but both had sworn to keep the secret, understanding their reasons for keeping his location from Dumbledore. Although he could tell Narcissa was concerned what the old man's actions towards Harry really meant and what would happen when Harry came back, something he was concerned about as well. He shook his head and sat down and waited for Draco to finish his lesson so they could start his combat training, something he had insisted he have so he could help Harry when the time came. Sirius had seen the looks this statement had brought out on Ron, Hermione and Ginny's faces and he was beginning to doubt where their loyalties lay, with Harry or Dumbledore?

 

+W+

 

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

 

Fleur sat and listened as Harry and his group talked. She was still amazed that she had been rescued by her friend only yesterday. After getting back, she had quickly warned her family of what had occurred and they had in turn warned the rest of the Veela tribes to be on full alert, which would make it extremely hard for Voldemort to capture any of the hostages he wanted to force their compliance.

 

She had stayed the night here because she wanted to catch up with her friend and learn what had been going on. She was angry to learn most British witches and wizards were ignoring the return of Voldemort, including the government. She found this hard to believe as the Dark Lord had already made attempts to gain ground not only in France, but other countries as well and panic was spreading, as was the determination to fight him.

 

Harry seemed a lot older than he had during the tournament and he seemed more confident and stronger in his magic as well, which he had put down to his training with his cousins and his parents. Meeting the ghosts of his parents was a learning experience and slightly nerve racking as Prue could not hold back and told the tale of her kissing Harry soundly as a thank you for rescuing her. She was relieved when James Potter just fell done laughing while congratulating his son for having his first kiss with such a hot looking girl, making Harry blush whilst Lilly just smiled, but she gave her a close look as if to see if there was anything more in her actions. Fleur had quickly looked away.

 

"Things back home are quickly heating up Harry," Remus said, having come for a visit at Sirius's suggestion to bring Harry up to date. "With Fudge forcing one of his biggest supporters into Hogwarts, Dumbledore has lost focus on other things and has no idea about these plans of the Dark Lord," he explained. "He still has most of the Order looking for you over all other concerns," he added, his face set in a way everyone could tell meant he didn't agree with this policy.

 

"What is he up to? Why has he been so of the ball? He wasn't like this during the first war," James inquired. "It's like he's lost all the fire he had for this kind of combat and if he has, you are screwed unless someone else takes charge," he stated plainly.

 

"Sirius has also become concerned about some of the other members of the order and where their true loyalty lie, which sadly include your friends Harry. They seem to hang on to his every word and he has been meeting them privately for an hour each day," Remus informed them. "We don't know why, but we can suspect they've been told to keep a close eye on you should you come back and then report everything you do to him," he added, knowing Harry would not like this one bit. He was right about that he concluded as he could see the anger in Harry's eyes.

 

"I could accept that from Ron and Ginny and the rest of the Weasley's, considering how they have always acted towards Dumbledore, but not Hermione. I though she at least had learned well enough that adults, especially the headmaster, are not always right," Harry spat angrily as he stood and walked over to look out the window. "This year is going to be my hardest yet. I'll have to try and find out who is loyal to whom. Strange thing is, the one person I know I can count on at Hogwarts at the moment is Draco and if you'd have told me that two years ago, I would have laughed myself silly at the very idea," he added, looking out into the empty street.

 

"I know it isn't what you wanted to hear Harry, but knowing the truth now is better than finding out later, when it is more important that you know where everyone stands," Remus tried to console him. "They might come around Harry, or they might not, but it doesn't mean others won't be loyal to you," he said, hoping to encourage him to stay hopeful.

 

"He's right Harry, they could see the error of their ways and maybe you will find new friends this year," Lilly stated, watching her son and wishing this wasn't happening at all and wanting nothing more than to protect him from what he would have to go through.

 

"You've made allies Harry, with my family and the Veela, who know you are someone they can count on to help them combat the Dark Lord," Fleur spoke up, wanting to help.

 

"Thanks Fleur, but I didn't rescue you just to gain allies. I did it because you're my friend," Harry responded with a long look at her before turning back to the street.

 

"It is that fact that made it so important. You didn't do it to gain mine or my family's favour, you did it just because it was the right thing to do," Fleur quickly put in. "It shows the strength of your character Harry, as most other males would have demanded some kind of payment, especially from a Veela," she all but spat in distaste and Harry could tell what she meant by payment.

 

"So what do we do now?" Prue inquired, breaking the silence that had quickly descended after Fleur's speech.

 

"We keep training and Harry will have to start thinking about who he may be able to trust when he goes back and who he wants to try and recruit," Xander was the one who answered. "It's the only thing we can do," he added.

 

The meeting soon broke up and Xander quickly walked into the attic to meditate for a while. He soon opened his eyes as Faith came in and he could tell she was angry and trying to repress it. He sighed, knowing Faith was beginning to grow resentful of his ever growing connection with Janna through the bond and wanted something to break it. He doubted it could be broken, but he dared not say that to her as she was so close now to ending their relationship as it was. He didn't know how to bring them back to what they had been, because he wouldn't abandon Janna. It was becoming more like she was now his other half, literally.

 

"Are you okay Faith?" he asked and then winced at the stupidity of that question, knowing it would only anger Faith more.

 

"I want to know how the sisters are coming on in finding something to break the bond between you and Janna Xand. It's been almost a month and a half now since we got here, they must have something?" she growled out and began pacing.

 

"They haven't found much Faith and with the Elders being against our presence here, its slow work," Xander answered. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth," he continued. "I'm beginning to fear that breaking the bond may be dangerous," he admitted. "We still know so little about it, but we do know that what happens to one, happens to the other," he admitted.

 

Faith stopped her pacing and stared at him long and hard. She was beginning to believe she as right and he didn't want to break the bond. This made her all the more angry but a small part of her couldn't help but admit that he had a point about how little they knew about the bond and that it could be dangerous to break. She quickly pushed that aside.

 

"I'm beginning to think you don't want them to break the bond, Xand. I think you like having it as an excuse to have two women and don't think I haven't noticed your interest in Prue either," Faith hissed before storming out of the attic before he could answer. Xander sighed.

 

"She's beginning to crack, isn't she?" a voice came from behind him and he spun to find Prue standing in the shadows of the attic. He cursed himself for not being more alert, as it could have well been a demon.

 

"Yes, she is," he admitted. "This has been brewing ever since she learnt about the bond. She took a huge chance in starting a relationship with me considering her background and now it's falling apart. The worst thing is she's forgotten I never asked for this to happen. Her anger is beginning to cloud her judgement," he explained as he stood and walked over to the window next to Prue, who still stood to the side.

 

"Even if we find something it doesn't mean it will lead to breaking the bond. As you said to Faith, doing so could be dangerous to both you and Janna. Hell, it could kill you both!" Prue argued, stepping into the light.

 

"I know Prue. I have thought about it a lot, believe me," Xander responded. "But for now I think continuing to search for answers couldn't hurt," he stated. "I just hope Faith can regain control of herself," he added before he turned and walked out of the room.

 

Prue watched him go and she wondered how long the couple would last. Considering how hostile Faith had been, she had decided not to bring up what Faith had said about Xander having an interest in her. Right now, he didn't need the distraction. She had to admit privately to herself that she liked Xander a lot. He was funny, he could be smart and she found him attractive, but she dared not try anything as he had Faith and Janna. Although she suspected that would change soon.

 

She sighed before going back to the Book of Shadows to continue her research on bonds while wondering how her mother and grandmother were going in their own search for answers upstairs as they had not been back down since she had initially asked for their help. She hoped nothing bad had happened to them due to the Elders.

 

+W+

 

(Underworld)

 

Cole sat in a lavish chair as he continued to go over the reports his spies had managed to uncover. He was beginning to see whole new ideas open to him in his quest to destroy the Charmed Ones and finally get his father's soul back from the Triad, but it was going to be a long road to bringing this plan off and he would need the aid of the Triad as well.

 

He had learnt about the sisters' cousin and the brewing war in the magical world in Britain from their talks outside their now hidden home, and he knew the sisters were training their cousin to fight. He suspected that if he and his allies were to offer aid to the enemy of the cousin and capture Harry, they could use him to get to the sisters. He felt a small tug of protest from his human side, but he pushed it away. He needed to stay focused on his goal and so he stood and walked from his cave to visit the Triad and to report what he had found out and to put his new plan forward hoping they would agree to it.

 

+W+

 

(Unknown Location)

 

He sighed and was beginning to grow tired of the Potter boy's continued absence. He needed the boy if his plans were to move forward, but so far neither the Order nor the Death Eaters had made any progress in locating him and his own network of spies had failed also. He was beginning to wonder how the boy was doing it.

 

He had taken note that Dumbledore had many problems right now, distracting him from putting his full attention on locating Harry Potter. First, there were the Ministry's attempts to control Hogwarts, second the induction into the order of Narcissa Black, formerly Malfoy, by Sirius against his wishes and finally trying to ensure Voldemort did not get his hands on the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries.

 

The Dark Lord had been set back in his plans to force the Veela clans to join his forces, but he did not know who had frustrated him in this way, whether there was a new player out there he needed to know about, so he could plan to either control or destroy them. He leaned back into his chair and hoped the boy would show up soon before turning to other matters, including hiring more hit wizards as he would soon need the firepower when his time to strike came.  
8\. Chapter 8

Beta: Inachis & Hawklan

Chapter 8

(12 Grimmauld Place, London)

Sirius walked into the meeting room alongside Narcissa to see Dumbledore and the rest of the Order at the head of the table waiting. He took note of the wary looks Remus and Tonks shot him. This put him on guard and he guessed this meeting wasn't going to be very pleasant. He and Narcissa quickly sat down and waited for the old man to begin. Both wondered what was going on.

"I called this meeting because I have grown tired and annoyed with certain members of this group not listening to my orders," Dumbledore began in a dark tone most had never heard from him before. It even took his oldest friend Moody by surprise. "Here and now I inform you that anymore refusals to heed my word will not go unpunished. This especially means you Sirius, and your constant leaving of this house," he stated, glaring at Sirius who glared back.

"I told you before Albus, I will not be a prisoner in this place and nothing you can do will change that," Sirius spat after looking away, confident his Occlumency shields would keep the old man out. "My Animagus form gives me the freedom I need, no one suspects me when I go out and I'm always with Remus and Tonks," he added as he ran a hand through his beard. "I find it funny that your major concern is making us all obey you rather than finding Harry," he accused with a dark frown, having had enough of the man's tone.

"Sirius Black, how dare you?!" Molly Weasley screeched in outrage at the disrespect she believed he was showing to the headmaster.

"I dare for a good reason Molly. Harry is missing and we've done nothing but look and failed to find him," Sirius growled out in response. "And instead of being worried, the headmaster seems to basically ignore this fact and gets angry because we don't do exactly as he says," he continued. "We're not mindless slaves here to do his bidding and nor are we Death Eaters sworn to a Dark Lord. We are all free people here to do what is right," Sirius stated as he looked around the table, taking in who seemed to react to his speech and who did not. "Are we not?" he inquired mildly with a raised eyebrow, much to Narcissa's amusement.

"Of course we are Sirius," Dumbledore finally responded even as he did his best to keep his annoyance and anger in check. "But as you recall, someone must lead, and I have more experience in that kind of role than anyone else here," he reminded them all. "I have helped bring down two major Dark Lords and a few minor ones in between them. I created this Order and led it all through the first war, through many victories," he added.

"I remember," Sirius cut him off. "However, I have noted you seem to shy away from any real conflict with the Death Eaters since Voldemort's return. Why is that Albus?" Sirius inquired, honestly curious and hoping the old man might actually allay his fears as well as the fears the others, especially Harry, had in regards to the headmaster.

"We are not at a good enough strength yet to match his forces as we were before. Many of our members have declined in skill during the 14 years of peace we have had," Dumbledore answered, folding his hands together infront of him. "We need to regain that edge. I will not send anyone into a fight they will lose, not until I am sure they can hold their own once more," he explained.

"That is all well and good Albus," Moody cut in, his own face showing he was split on this matter. "But we need to push the Death Eaters back when they show up or we'll lose too much ground," he warned.

"Mad-Eye has a point," Emmeline Vance spoke up. "We have to show them we will not let them get away with their crimes. Isn't that one of the reasons we joined forces to begin with?" she asked, glancing at Dumbledore as a few of the others murmured their agreement with the statement.

"I agree with both of them Dumbledore," Kingsley Shacklebolt said. "We must meet them whenever we can and start cutting their numbers down. We can train as much as we can while we are not fighting them," he suggested. "I understand your concern in regards to how well we will do against the Death Eaters at present, but in the end we have little choice, we either stand for something or we do not," he concluded.

Dumbledore frowned in further annoyance as almost the entire Order agreed with Kingsley's statement. He guessed he should be happy with their eagerness to fight. He frowned, wondering why he was so hesitant to actually engage Voldemort and his forces, but a slight pain in his head quickly diverted his attention and he returned his attention to the meeting.

"You are of course correct," he finally relented, knowing that for now he would have to agree if he was to keep their loyalty. "We will engage the Death Eaters when they show themselves, but I must insist that you all will be careful until your skills are improved," he stressed this point. "Does that satisfy you Sirius?" he asked, facing the younger man.

"And Harry?" Sirius inquired. "We have to do more to find and bring him home," he stressed, while on the inside he was laughing at the fact the old man was clueless as to the fact that he, Remus and Tonks knew exactly where Harry was.

"We have looked everywhere Black," Snape sneered. "The Dark Lord has begun searching for him as well. A force of Death Eaters was defeated and their memories wiped during a raid for which the Dark Lord believes Potter to be responsible," he informed them all.

"Harry doesn't know how to obliviate people's memories Severus," Albus pointed out. "Unless he has the help of some unknown witch or wizard that cannot have been him," he mused. "Do you know where this event happened?" he asked.

"Somewhere in America, although I do not know the exact area," Snape answered with a shake of his head. Remus and Sirius both held their breathes as this was getting far too close to the truth. Tonks stiffened a little, but forced herself to relax, while Narcissa did her best not to show any emotion.

"America?" Moody growled. "If it was Potter, then how the hell did he get all the way to another country?" he added. "Hell, we still have no clue how he got out of the house while under watch," he reminded them irritably.

"Sending a search party would be pointless as without an exact location of the event in question, we'd have no idea where to start and America is a big place to search," Dumbledore mused aloud, stroking his beard.

Sirius and Remus both released the breaths they had been holding as the old man spoke. Narcissa almost smiled as the old man reached his conclusion and realised Harry would remain safe, while Tonks just relaxed some more.

"Is it possible Potter has gone into hiding and will return when it's time to go back to Hogwarts?" Minerva McGonagall spoke up into the brewing silence. She was worried by the hard attitude she had seen from her old friend today, although it was far more than she had seen of him since Voldemort returned. His actions and choices worried her, but she had faith in him and thus had not spoken to him about it yet.

"Why would he run from a place he knew was safe for him?" Emmeline asked, confused.

"Oh come on" Remus growled "It must be clear to some of you by now that those people that are laughably called his relatives are abusive towards him," he told them. "You can't be blind to the signs, how he shies away from anyone touching him, how hesitant he is to be brought into the spotlight," he continued with a dark look in his eyes. "I'm sure he has brought up this matter with you Albus, yet you insist he goes back there, and this time you did it at the worst possible time when he not only witnessed the murder of a friend, but was almost killed himself," he stated with a hard look at the old man, who blinked and looked away. "You allowed no one to speak to him on this matter, to help him get through what must be a living nightmare for him," he pointed out.

"I'm certain you are over stating matters Remus," Dumbledore replied, even though he knew for a fact it was all true. "His relatives' home is the only place he is safe from Voldemort and his followers," he stated with as much conviction as he could to convince the majority of his group.

"That is not so," Narcissa finally spoke up. "He is safe here. Once this house was made safe, you could have brought him here and helped him come to terms with what happened in the graveyard," she told him with a glare.

"She has a point there Albus," McGonagall said softly. "I and a lot of the others have been concerned over what Potter's state of mind will be when he comes back," she admitted with a sigh. "What he witnessed in the graveyard must have been truly horrifying and yet instead of letting us help him come to terms with it, you sent him away and then cut him off from all help. We do not understand your reasoning although I admit we did not question it either," she finished, looking disappointed not only in him but in herself as well.

Sirius and many of the others nodded their agreement with the deputy headmistress' statement. Dumbledore felt like groaning but held it inside, wondering why they could not just obey his instructions.

"I believe Harry will overcome what happened in the graveyard on his own. He is a very private person and I doubt even had I done as you suggested he would have actually spoken to any of you over the subject," Dumbledore said, defending his choice in this matter. "Given what he has been through over the years, I would think you would have more faith in his ability to overcome this as he had other dark events in his life," he said, his eyes twinkling a little.

Sirius felt like cursing the old man, but managed to avoid venting his anger. He caught the unsure looks Remus and Tonks wore and guessed they too were even more confused as to what the old man was really up to in regards to Harry.

"Enough of this, Potter will show himself, of that I am certain," Snape spat. "He will not be able to keep himself away from the school, if for no other reason than to help keep his friends safe," he stated with his usual sneer.

"I agree," Dumbledore said, nodding his head in agreement. "Severus, I want you to keep a closer eye on Voldemort's search for Harry. The rest of you, I want you to redouble your training so we can begin engaging the Death Eaters and have hopes of winning," he ordered. "Continue to search for any clues as to Harry's location, but it is no longer a priority, as I am sure Harry will show himself in time," he stated before he got up and left with Snape following close behind.

The others slowly broke up as well, with some of them talking about the headmaster's odd views and orders. Some were disappointed that he felt they were not up to the task of beating the Death Eaters. Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Narcissa quickly headed for one of the upper rooms and then sealed it and dropped antilistening charms so they could talk privately.

+W+

(Underworld)

Cole waited as the Triad digested what he had reported as well as the idea he had put forward. He ignored the protests of his human half and focused on getting his father's soul back, no matter the costs. As he watched them discuss things he began to grow annoyed. He hated waiting as he was not a patient man.

"Do you really think this is the best plan to kill the Charmed Ones?" one of the Triad finally asked as they turned back to him.

"I believe it is. They are focused on helping their cousin fight this war and thus that means if we ally with their enemy, we can have far more assets to use against them," Cole answered. "We will of course have to offer this Dark Lord something in return, but I am sure he will accept the deal, no matter what, as long as we allow him to believe he has the better end of it," he explained. "This is our best bet to kill the Charmed Ones and finally claim their Book of Shadows," he stated convincingly.

"How certain are you that the Charmed Ones will actually fight in this war?" the head member of the Triad inquired skeptically.

"If there is one thing I know about the Halliwells, it is that they do not turn their backs on their family," Cole stated with conviction. "They will fight by his side, which will expose them to plenty of chances for us to kill them," he added with a smirk as his human half protested again.

"What about these other new allies of the Charmed Ones?" the third member of the Triad inquired, as he placed his hands behind his back and focused an intense stare on Cole.

"We know they are from the Hellmouth and that they came to the sisters for aid," Cole reported. "However, we do not know exactly who they are nor do we know if they will help the sisters and their cousin in the war. But even if they do, I doubt they will be much trouble," he concluded.

"Are you certain of that Balthazar?" the head member demanded. "Or are you taking a wild guess as usual?" he said with a dark tone.

"I am confident we can deal with them should they become a problem," Cole responded carefully, knowing he had to keep himself in the Triad's good graces if he would have any hope of recovering his father's soul.

"Very well," the head member relented after sharing a glance at his two colleagues. "You may put your plan into action, but should you fail, then you will be punished greatly and you will never get your father's soul back," he warned before the Triad vanished, leaving Cole on his own.

Cole growled before he turned and stalked out of the room, knowing the threat from the Triad was very real. He had staked everything on this plan it would seem, and he would not get another chance. His human half raged from within, but he ignored it even as his mind turned to face the fact he was plotting Phoebe's death. A fact he hated, she would make a great partner if she could be corrupted, he thought.

Even his demon side could not refute that fact. Her visions would come in handy as well, making him aware of dangers before they even came for him. He decided to see what he could do in that regard, maybe he could break Phoebe's will, if he succeeded in killing her beloved sisters. From there he could mold her into the perfect weapon, and a willing partner, if he was lucky.

+W+

(Unknown Location)

He stood near the window looking out over the dark grounds, wondering if Dumbledore was correct. Would Potter show himself in time? Stroking his beard he decided to wait and see if Snape's view of the boy played out. For now he would continue to build his forces and prepare for the war to come. Feeling a slight pain in his head he realised his control was slipping and thus he quickly decided to head back to Hogwarts.

+W+

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

Prue smirked as she watched her sisters listen to James and Lily instruct them in using a wand. Each of them had bought a wand from the closest magical town, but it was found out that while her sisters needed a wand to perform the kind of magic Harry could do, she did not. For some reason she could access their type of magic without one, as she had done so during the battle with the demons. James and Lily could think of no reason why this should be, but Harry had suggested that it was because she was the strongest of the sisters.

She supposed there was some truth in that as it was true that out of the three of them, she was the one with the most power. Her gifts seemed more in tune and thus gave her the ability to use more power. Piper of course was second to her and then Phoebe, who was the weakest of the three. With no active power she had to rely on her hand to hand combat skills during fights with demons. Although once she had learned wand magic that would no longer be the case, Prue realized. ‘Good, then she will have more ways of protecting herself,' she thought, relieved to know her sister would be better able to keep herself safe.

Harry soon appeared and she noted he looked uneasy and she moved to see what was wrong. The others noted it too, but she waved them back to their lesson. James and Lily wished they could help, but they had only another half hour before they had to return to the afterlife, being summoned came with a time limit. Plus Harry would do better to learn to rely on Prue and her sisters than them, as they could not always be there for him.

"Are you okay Harry?" Prue inquired quietly, alerting him to her presence as she came up behind him in the living room.

Harry glanced at her over his shoulder from where he had been looking out the window, before he turned his gaze back to the window. "I just had a quick conversation with Sirius over the charmed mirrors," he replied.

"I take it then it was not good news?" Prue concluded as she moved to his side and laid a hand on his shoulder. Xander appeared only to pause and turn to leave, but Prue indicated he could stay.

"He told me about the most recent meeting of the Order. Dumbledore was acting odd again, especially in regards to me," Harry told her. "Sirius doesn't know what to make of it and neither do the others. Voldemort seems to know I might be in America somewhere, but not the exact state and neither does the Order so it seems the Fidelius charm is working," he continued with a shake of his head, feeling a bit frustrated. "Dumbledore's lack of action against the Death Eaters has many of the Order concerned, but thankfully Sirius and the others managed to galvanize the others into convincing the old man to start fighting them when they come out of hiding," he explained.

"That is something at least, although I find it odd that someone who led the fight against this Voldemort in the last war would be so uneasy about doing now that a second war is on the horizon," Xander mused aloud.

"According to Sirius the old man's defense was that he didn't believe the Order was up to scratch skill wise to win such fights. He said the majority had allowed their skills to erode too much during the years of peace and he did not want to waste their lives," Harry informed them, turning to face them.

"You don't believe that, do you?" Xander asked, noting the doubt in Harry's eyes.

"No and neither did the others. They think Dumbledore had other motives behind his lack of action but they have no clue what they could be," Harry responded as he ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the windowsill.

"Maybe his old age is getting the better of him," Prue suggested. "You did say he is the oldest wizard alive that you know of in the magical world," she reminded him as she moved to the couch and sat down.

"True and it would explain a lot I guess," Harry admitted. "I guess I'll find out when I go back and see for myself," he said as he sat down as well as did Xander.

"Are you sure that is the best thing to do Harry?" Prue asked, concerned for her cousin's wellbeing.

"I have to go, if for no other reason than that I have to find allies against Voldemort," Harry responded, appreciating the concern he heard in Prue's voice. "He will never stop coming after me, I have to fight Prue, or I may as well just let him take me," he stated with a grim smile.

Prue glanced at Xander and noted he approved of Harry's stance and she guessed she could not fault her cousin. It was the same kind of thing she and her sisters dealt with. Still, she could not help but wish none of them had to risk their lives so damn much, for a world who would never know the sacrifices they made. Silence descended on the three of them as they stared off, each lost in their thoughts.

+W+

(Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry)

Dumbledore blinked as he awoke and noted he was in his quarters at Hogwarts. He frowned, unable to recall how he got here as his last memory was leaving the meeting at the Order headquarters. The pain he had been feeling in his head subsided and he pushed himself to his feet and called for a house elf to bring him some water and a bit of food. A few minutes later he felt much better than he had done when he had awoken. He was beginning to fear he was losing his grasp due to his age. Frowning he pushed that thought away and headed for his desk.

He had plans to come up with now that he had been pushed into taking a more proactive stance against the Death Eaters. He cursed Sirius and the others for their rash actions. They needed to tread far more carefully as Voldemort was far more deadly than ever before. He had found a way not only to survive death, but also to return to life. It did them no good to beat him unless they could kill him permanently. Running a tired hand through his beard he let out a sigh as he pulled one of his books from the shelf and began to read, hoping to find some clue as to how Voldemort had done it.  
9\. Chapter 9

Note: Thank you to Inachis and Hawklan for fixing this chapter up.

Chapter 9

(Riddle Manor)

Voldemort looked up from the book of ancient rituals he was reading. He sensed that he was been watched and it was not by one of his servants. He stood up and pulled his wand. He was frowning as he tried to pinpoint the source. ‘How did they penetrate my hideout's protections?' he mused.

"Show yourself!" he commanded as he continued to look around. "I know you are here, reveal yourself and what you want or suffer greatly," he warned in a sinister tone.

A soft chuckle from the shadows answered his warning and made him angry. That was not a reaction he was used to get when he issued a threat. Finally a young man appeared before him from the darkness. He seemed to just appear out of thin air, but not by any means Voldemort was used to seeing. He did not sense any kind of magic from this man, yet his gut told him this was no ordinary human, especially considering he had managed to get into the private chambers of the Dark Lord without being seen. No, this person was something else.

"Who are you?" he demanded to know as he pointed his wand at the man and prepared to cast a killing curse, should the intruder turn out to be a threat. "Why have you come?" he added a second later.

"My name is Cole Turner," the young man answered. "But that's only one of my names. My other name is perhaps known to you in some manner." Cole transformed into his demonic form. "I'm Balthazar," he stated.

Voldemort stared in shock, and was surprised by the sudden turn of events as he realized that what stood before him was a demon, a creature of the Underworld the likes of which he had heard of when he first began on his road to becoming a Dark Lord. He had heard the tales of demons having been allies to the Dark Lord before him, Gellert Grindelwald. He had never found any real proof as to their existence until now. This was turning out to be an interesting evening. He lowered his wand, but kept it in his hand. He was not fool enough to trust this thing yet, not until he had some proof it was here to do his bidding or at least ally with his forces.

"A demon," he finally stated, revealing his knowledge of what his visitor was. "I have indeed heard of your kind, but only as myths and tales of old, that you aided Grindelwald in his war when he was at the height of his powers," he told Balthazar as he calmly sat back down.

Cole, having returned to his human form, smirked, having suspected this Dark Lord would not be foolish to trust him so easily. That he knew about demons and their role in Grindelwald's war was however surprising, after all they had been secret allies of the former Dark Lord, hoping to use him as a weapon against their enemies once he had control of the magical world. But he had fallen at the hands of Albus Dumbledore, the champion of the light side at the time. After that the demons had abandoned what was left of his forces, which had been quickly wiped out.

"We did indeed have a role in that war. However Grindelwald was a failure and died at the hands of a man he should have easily defeated," Cole shot back. "He had the magical world at his feet and he let it slip through his fingers, not unlike your own fall from grace," he continued and smiled as the Dark Lord growled low in his throat at the reminder of his defeat by a mere baby. "Of course, your defeat by Harry Potter was not your own fault, prophecy was in play and you did not know the full contents of that prophecy and hence could not avoid what happened to you," he explained.

Voldemort glared at the demon for a few minutes before nodding his head in agreement there. Had he known the full prophecy, he was certain he could have avoided what happened at Godric's Hollow. Yet the memory of that defeat rankled him, he could never forget it or the pain as his body was destroyed by a damn infant. Oh how he vowed that one day he would pay back Potter for what he had done to him! Had it not been for Potter and that damn prophecy, he would be ruler of the magical world by now and he would have begun his annihilation of the Muggles as well.

"Be careful demon, in what you say to me," he finally replied, deciding he had to ensure this demon knew its place. "Say what you have to say and then be gone before I decide to show you what happens to those who insult me," he added with a cold tone which he hoped would unnerve the demon. He was annoyed to see Cole remain unaffected by his threat.

"I'm here to offer you an alliance, as your enemy Harry Potter has allied with some of our own enemies who just happen to be cousins of his. They are powerful witches in their own right, only of a magic much different than your own," Cole explained, deciding to get to the point after having had enough of the posturing he and the Dark Lord had been doing.

Voldemort leaned forward in surprise at this new information. The fact that Potter had actually blood related family besides his worthless Muggle aunt and uncle was an even bigger surprise. The fact that according to this demon they were powerful witches who could wield a magic that was different than his own was disturbing, although this would explain why Potter might have been in America if his cousins lived there. Had they rescued him from his aunt and uncle, who he had come to understand were abusive towards the boy? Leaning back he contemplated this information for a few minutes.

"He has also allied with others who we wish dead. Together they make a strong force and thus we believe an alliance between us would aide us both," Cole continued, allowing the Dark Lord a few seconds to digest what he had said. "If the boy learns how to use his cousins' magic, he will be far more of a threat than he was ever meant to be," he stated.

Voldemort narrowed his eyes at this. He did not like the idea of Potter having any advantage over him. Soon his pride overtook him and he dismissed the idea as absurd. How could a simple under-trained boy ever threaten him? The child had barely had any real training in combat and he had yet to complete his schooling. Still, the boy did have a knack for escaping things, things he should have no business surviving, Voldemort reluctantly conceded. Glancing back at the demon that waited for his answer, he decided to agree to an alliance, but he would not turn his back to any of them.

"Very well, I agree to an alliance," he stated as he stood up again and put his wand away in a fake sign of trust. He was ready to draw it in an instant should the demon attempt anything. "As a sign of your good intentions between allies, you can aide me when I assault Azkaban to free my more dangerous followers," he declared with a smile.

Cole simply nodded his head in agreement before he vanished or at least that is how it seemed to Voldemort. In reality he used his powers to fade out of the room. The first step in his new plan to kill the sisters had been completed. Hopefully with the Dark Lord's aide they would succeed in finally destroying the Warren line and claiming their much sought after Book of Shadows. Voldemort leaned back in his chair and decided to ensure he had plans in place, just in case these demons turned on him.

+WOM+

(12 Grimmauld Place, London)

Narcissa entered the library to find Molly Weasley once again looking to throw some of the darker tomes out. The red headed woman instantly noted her presence and faced her.

"I've told you before Molly, you have no right to dispose of anything in this house," Narcissa growled in anger, having gotten fed up of the Weasley Matriarch's attitude. "This is not your house, you are nothing more than a guest," she added with a glare.

Molly huffed in anger at the blond haired woman's statement. "I don't care Narcissa, these books are dangerous and I will not have them anywhere near my children," she spat back, placing her hands on her hips and glaring back at Narcissa. "Anyone of them could be corrupted by the things in these damn books, I want them gone," she argued.

"I don't care what you want Molly. In this house you do not give orders or make decisions on what happens within it," Narcissa countered in a calmer, silkier tone of voice that enraged Molly further. "Now leave and don't come back or try and throw away things that do not belong to you," she added, her tone changing into a much harsher one. "But to ease your mind I will lock the library so none of your wayward children can get in," she stated just as Molly was about to exit the door after angrily stalking away.

Narcissa smiled at having angered the red headed woman who did nothing but irritate her. She checked the shelves to make sure nothing was missing and was relieved to find she had clearly gotten here just in time. ‘The nerve of the woman!' Narcissa thought, to come here and try and dictate what happened in another person's house.

"Problem Cissy?" Sirius inquired as he popped his head into the room, having heard the raised voices from the study.

"Just another run in with Molly Weasley," Narcissa answered as she sat down and rubbed her forehead for a few seconds. "She is intent in trying to throw everything she can find here out if it has the least bit connection to the Dark Arts. She is an annoying busy body," she added as Sirius sat across from her after shutting the door behind him. "She should mind her own business and stay away from what is by all rights ours," she stated with an aggravated look in her eyes.

"I know Cissy," Sirius responded with a tired nod of his head. "But Molly has always been in control of her family. Arthur is too mild mannered to counter her and will do as she says," he tried to explain. "She has a high opinion of herself I think. She also seems to be well used to controlling her children well past the time they should be acting on their own," he pointed out.

"So I noted," Narcissa replied as she pushed a few locks of her hair behind her ear. "However she should realize that she has no control over us or Draco for that matter. She doesn't even have any control over Granger, but the young girl seems content to do as she is told," she mused as she called for Kreacher.

The old elf popped in, eager to serve and having dropped his constant insults of Sirius now he was acting like a true Black in his eyes. The presence of Narcissa and Draco helped the elf to feel that he was once again truly serving the Black family.

"Yes mistress," Kreacher said with a low bow.

"Bring us both some hot tea," Narcissa ordered, having become quite thirsty. "I want you also to ensure that no one comes into this library expect for members of the Black family, which includes Nymphadora," she added.

"I understand Mistress," Kreacher responded, before he popped out for a few minutes, returning with the tea and placing it on a table which was near the two chairs, and then vanished again.

Narcissa poured them both a cup of tea before she got comfortable again. She sipped hers slowly, while Sirius almost drained his in a few gulps. "We're going to have to keep a close eye on the members of the Order, especially once Harry returns," she stated, moving onto more important matters. "The old man's attitude towards Harry in general, as well as the war in particular, is disconcerting to say the least. If most of them are mindlessly following his will, then we could be in more trouble than we first thought," she pointed out as she continued to sip her tea.

"I'm forced to agree," Sirius agreed after a few seconds, wishing he could deny her statements, but he knew he couldn't. "Like I told Harry through the mirrors, we have to keep our eyes open, no matter how distressing the idea is that our own allies may not be what we believe them to be," he told her with a sigh as he ran a hand through his beard, which he had trimmed that day to look a lot neater than before. "Thankfully Nymphadora and Remus are on our side, and Emmeline and Moody are showing signs of questioning Dumbledore more and more of late," he reminded her. "Maybe we could get them to help us if we explained things to them," he added with a troubled look as he tried to work out if they should take the risk and talk to them.

"I saw the same thing in Kingsley Shacklebolt during the last meeting. However, I'm wary of taking the risk of alerting them to the fact we know where Harry is and have done so ever since he went missing," Narcissa responded thoughtfully. "No, for now I think we should continue to see how they react to things before we take such a risk. Alerting Dumbledore to the fact we not only know Harry's location, but also don't trust him might put us in danger," she warned him. 

"Do you really think the old man might harm us?" Sirius inquired as he finished his cup of tea and locked his eyes on his cousin, who he knew to be one of the smartest witches around. "Just for not telling him about Harry and mistrusting him?" he added.

"I think Dumbledore is capable of anything, Sirius," Narcissa answered. "I've always been wary of the man. His power is great I admit, but there is something about it that has always put me on my guard, even when I was at Hogwarts," she explained as she recalled her own view of the ancient headmaster. "He likes to show the world a friendly and light sided view of himself, but something about him always made me wonder what was truly in his heart," she went on as she finished her own drink. "His actions of late have seemed to confirm my worst fears about who Albus Dumbledore really is, and what he is capable of," she concluded, her gaze troubled and worried, telling Sirius far more than her words.

He had never really looked at Albus as anything but a light sided wizard who had the world's best interest at heart. Even when he had finally escaped from Azkaban he had trusted the old man, not even once blaming him for his long imprisonment. Only recently had he begun to doubt and to question his long held view of the headmaster. His actions of late had begun to make him wonder who Dumbledore really was. ‘Have I been blind to the truth?' he wondered.

+WOM+

(Underworld)

Cole reappeared in front of the Triad, who all stopped whatever conversation they were having and looked at him. He gave a quick bow, knowing that showing a little respect could not hurt and maybe would gain him some trust. This would be useful until he had no further need of the Triad. When he finally had his father's soul he would destroy the Triad for daring to keep what was truly his from him.

"The Dark Lord has accepted our offer of an alliance as I suspected he would once he learned of Potter's new allies," he reported confidently, gazing at the head member of the Triad. "He wishes us to prove our intent to help him by attacking the Wizarding prison of Azkaban and helping to free his most dangerous followers," he continued.

"Does he indeed?" the head Triad member snorted in annoyance before conceding. "It is no surprise he would want us to prove our ability to aide him, as well as proving which side we are on," he said with a shake of his head. "And prove it we will. You will take a small group of demons with you and help in this assault on the prison," he stated with a fixed gaze on Cole, who stared back. "Keep a close watch on this Dark Lord, he is not someone to trust and he will turn on us once we have served his purpose," he warned. "Unlike Grindelwald we have no hold on this wizard, no real sense of being allies," he told Cole, to which the other two members of the Triad nodded in agreement.

"I understand," Cole replied, having already planned to keep an eye on this Dark Lord anyway. "I will gather a select group of demons to aide me," he told them before he turned and walked away.

The Triad watched him go before deciding to continue to have another of their agents keep an eye on Balthazar. They knew he had to be up to something on the side. He was not a demon who was in their trust. He had the backing of the Source due to his long service and highly successful record against their enemies, but that was always a precarious thing to have. The Source easily discarded those in his favor should they fail him, or did anything that affected the Underworld in a negative way.

+WOM+

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

Faith paced up and down her room, trying to control her anger and fear about Xander and Janna. And then there was his growing interest in Prue. He could deny it all he wanted, but Faith could see it in his eyes. He would watch the brunette closely when in the same room, and instead of spending time with her he would rather discuss things with Prue under the guise of trying to find answers as to how to break the bond.

"Faith, please relax," Jessica said, startling the dark haired slayer and making her spin around to face her watcher. "I know you are under a lot of stress, but please try and rest," she added, very worried for her charge.

"I can't," Faith shot back as she glanced at her watcher who was the closest thing she had to a mother. "I'm stressed to the breaking point," she admitted as she slumped onto her bed. Her hand began to play with her hair, a sure sign of her nervousness and stress.

Jessica sighed, having been expecting Faith to begin to lose control. She had been worried about her ever since Janna and Xander had told them about the bond they now shared. Moving to sit next to Faith on the bed she pulled her into a one armed hug. She had to be careful how she responded to this.

"Xander loves you Faith," she began gently. "Of that I have no doubt. The bond he shares with Janna and his feelings for her may be strong, but they will never be as strong as his feelings for you," she continued before Faith cut her off.

"I used to believe that even when he suggested a three way relationship between me, him and Janna," Faith told her angrily as she looked up to meet Jessica's concerned gaze. "But not anymore Jessica, I've seen the way he looks at Prue, he wants her," she stated with complete conviction in her belief. "Whatever we had is fading away," she said brokenly.

Jessica winced at Faith's admission and she found herself cursing Xander for doing this to her daughter in all but blood. How could he be so foolish and blind to the hurt he was causing her? She had not seen anything troubling between Xander and Prue, but clearly Faith had been watching things carefully and had seen things.

"Don't lose hope Faith," she whispered as she deepened the hug, hoping to comfort Faith, who held tightly to her. "You may be looking for such things so hard that you are seeing things that are not there," she said, only half-heartedly as she did not doubt what Faith had seen. But still she didn't want her to make any rash choices that would only hurt her more. "I doubt Xander would intentionally hurt you," she added with what she hoped was a confident tone.

Faith didn't reply, although she tried to take some comfort from her words. She didn't want to lose what she had with Xander, but if things continued the way they were, she knew she would not be able to hold on anymore. Sharing him with Janna was hard enough, and she was certain she was sharing him with the older woman. They had not discussed the three way thing Xander had suggested again since they had arrived here, but in her heart she suspected that was what Xander and Janna wanted her to agree to. She didn't want to share him, she wanted the bond broken, but even if the sisters could find a way of doing that without killing them, could she be confident Xander would not attempt to get her to agree to a three way relationship anyway? She didn't know the answer to that question and that fact hurt her deeply, and her faith in him was slowly fading.

Jessica held Faith, who continued to struggle with her emotions over this matter. She would have to have a talk with Xander if this continued much longer, before things exploded between them all. She began to run one of her hands through Faith's hair and did her best to get Faith to relax. Slowly Faith began to grow less tense and just allowed herself to be held.

Downstairs Harry sat in the study talking with Fleur who had come to visit him. Thankfully his training for the day was over and he had time to continue to build up a friendship with the French quarter Veela. He found himself beginning to enjoy these visits, they helped take his mind of the worry of what he would find when he finally returned to Hogwarts.

"Are you okay Harry?" Fleur inquired as she noted his sudden distraction and the dark look that had momentarily crossed his features.

"I'm fine Fleur, really," Harry responded with what he hoped was a reassuring look. "I was just thinking of something else," he told her with a shake of his head as he tried to focus on other things. "So has Voldemort tried attacking the Veela again?" he asked.

"There were two more attempts at capturing hostages from the Death Eaters, but they were easily repelled now that the clans have mobilized for such an event," Fleur answered with a slight frown, not liking the fact this his question reminded her how close she had been to becoming a prisoner of the Death Eaters. A fact that still sent shivers up her spine. She did not kid herself for one minute what kind of things would have been done to her had she been captured. "Two of the attackers were killed, another captured and executed as a warning to the Dark Lord to discourage further attacks," she informed him with a smile that made Harry realize the Veela could be viscous when needed.

"Let's hope it works," Harry responded. "Although I don't think Tom is one for taking hints," he muttered quietly, although Fleur heard him and was immediately interested in who Tom was and what he had to do with the Dark Lord.

"Who is Tom?" Fleur couldn't help but ask and noted Harry suddenly looked uneasy. "Harry, who is Tom?" she asked again, unwilling to be put off.

"Tom is Voldemort's real name," Harry relented with a sigh as he realized he didn't have to keep the old man's secrets anymore, considering the way he had been told he was acting lately. "Tom Marvolo Riddle, and contrary to popular belief he is not a pureblood, but a halfblood like me," he explained with a twisted smile. "During my second year I fought the spirit of a young Voldemort and I learned all about his true origins, basically the name Voldemort means Flight from Death," he told her. "He is afraid of death, it's his greatest weakness and somehow he has found a way to stop himself from passing on. That's how he survived after I destroyed his body and remained a wraith for so many years until he got his body back," he went on and his eyes darkened as he recalled the events in the graveyard.

Fleur moved closer to Harry on the couch and slowly placed her hand on top of Harry's. Harry jumped slightly at the contact and almost pulled away before he turned to meet Fleur's concerned gaze.

"Why does no one else know this information?" Fleur inquired as she considered that if this was publicly known, then maybe the Dark Lord would not have as much support as he currently did or ever had.

"I don't know, Dumbledore knows a hell of a lot more about him than I do, but he has never come forward with it," Harry answered with a half-hearted shrug. "I've never said anything about it either. I believed he wanted it kept secret for some reason," he added with a confused look as to what the headmaster's motives for that choice were.

"He must have his reasons, but they may not have been in the best interest of the magical world," Fleur stated after thinking it over for a few minutes. "Maybe he thought it best he kept the information quiet for reasons that only benefited him," she suggested with a frown marring her features.

Harry glanced at her for a few seconds before nodding his head, agreeing it was possible. It added another worrying piece as to what Dumbledore was truly up to. Neither spoke after that, they remained on the couch in silence and neither mentioned that Fleur's hand still rested on Harry's.

Lily watched from a corner as the scene played out. She was invisible to them as she had not been summoned and had come on her own. She was beginning to suspect that Fleur Delacour had an interest in her son that went beyond friendship. So far the French quarter Veela had seemed a nice and friendly person, but she did not yet fully trust her, especially not with her son.

+WOM+

(San Francisco)

Xander ran next to Prue on an impromptu jog with her and Phoebe. Both sisters liked to keep in shape and Xander had wanted to get out of the manor for a small while. Things were building to a head between him and Faith and nothing he said or did was going to stop it exploding. He couldn't control his emotions when it came to Janna and Faith knew that. Her belief he had an interest in Prue, while accurate, was something he was trying hard to ignore. He wouldn't cheat on her and she should know that. But he supposed his suggestion of a three way relationship and now this thing with Prue even if it was nothing was all making Faith doubt him and what they had.

"I'm worried," Phoebe said, breaking the silence they had all been in.

"What about Phoebe?" Prue asked, while glancing at her youngest sister with a slight frown, wondering what was bothering her.

"About when Harry goes back to England," Phoebe admitted. "We won't be able to follow him into the school. He'll have no one to watch his back, except maybe that Draco kid he told us about," she explained with her own frown. "The one who used to be his enemy," she added as they continued to jog, but now at a slower pace.

"I know," Prue agreed with a deeper frown. "I've thought about it quite a bit, but there's nothing we can do about it Phoebe," she told her. "All we can do is train him as much as we can so he can defend himself against whatever comes his way," she stated.

"Hopefully he will find his own allies and true friends once he does go back," Xander broke into their conversation, having been listening closely to what they were saying, as it helped to take his mind of his problems with Faith. "Just remember, he isn't going back to England alone. We're going with him and we can support him as much as we can," he reminded them with what he hoped was a confident smile. "Plus with Leo's help we should be able to get into Hogwarts should Harry need the help," he added.

Both Prue and Phoebe nodded at this, but still they were worried about their cousin. He would be on the front line of any fight before they could reach him, even with Leo. Still, they were confident in Harry, he was learning to control their powers very well and his skill in potion making was coming along nicely and he would be able to hold his own should he get into trouble. They remained silent all through the rest of the jog, each lost in their own thoughts.  
10\. Chapter 10

Note: Thank you to Inachis and Hawklan for looking over this chapter.

(Riddle Manor)

Voldemort looked around as his followers prepared themselves for the strike against Azkaban. Tonight he would see his most devoted followers freed from that wretched prison. To have the likes of Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers back in his army would swell his confidence, as they had never rejected him to escape being sent to the dark prison like so many others had. All he waited for was his supposed new demon allies. He was still very skeptical about the demon’s claim of helping him, but he would use it to achieve his goals all the faster before removing them from being a threat. 

“Master, we are ready to assault Azkaban,” Lucius reported as he moved to his lord’s side. 

To the Dark Lord the man still looked half-drunk as he had been for a while since his wife and son had left him. He found it amusing that Narcissa had found the inner strength to run, taking her son and half of the Malfoy fortune with her. Worse for Lucius was the fact that Draco had renounced the Malfoy name, and had instead become a Black, which meant that when Lucius died, the Malfoy name would die with him. While it amused him to see the once arrogant pureblood reduced to an angered drunk, it didn’t mean that Narcissa and her son would not pay for their actions. By taking half the Malfoy fortune the bitch had halved the money going into his cause, oh yes she would pay as would her son, he swore. 

“Good, but until my new allies arrive we can’t go,” Voldemort told him as he looked over his followers and nodded, pleased to see they all seemed ready for a fight. 

“My Lord, these demons, can we trust them?” Lucius inquired, still unsure what to make of these new allies the Dark Lord had told them about. 

“No, we can’t, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use them for our own ends. We can always remove the threat afterwards,” Voldemort answered calmly. 

Before either of them could speak again Cole and a group of ten demons appeared before them. The Death Eaters pulled their wands, but halted as Voldemort raised his hand to motion for them to stop. 

“You are late,” Voldemort growled as Cole stepped forward, transforming into his Balthazar form as he did so.

“It took time to pick the demons which would be of the most use in assaulting this prison complex of yours,” Balthazar replied with a growl of his own. “I picked the most powerful of my brethren to aide us, be grateful for our aide,” he said with finality. 

Voldemort only smiled in response, having expected the demon to respond in such a way. He didn’t want weak allies. He needed strong, forceful allies and these demons might just be exactly what he wanted. Dumbledore and the Ministry wouldn’t know what hit them. 

“Good, we leave in five minutes,” Voldemort finally responded. “Ensure your friends leave no one alive, I want to send a message to my enemies,” he ordered coldly. 

“As you wish,” Balthazar replied, wishing he could incinerate this Dark Lord for his tone, but he had to wait until he was no longer needed. He had to remember his own plans. Turning to his fellow demons he smirked as each of them had been let in on the plan to kill the Dark Lord and most of his minions once they had killed the Charmed Ones, their cousin and their allies. 

+WOM+

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

Harry awoke to find his mother standing over his bed with a troubled look in her eyes. At first he was surprised, but it was quickly replaced by a feeling of contentment. He could imagine her doing such a thing when he was a kid, had he grown up with her and his father, as he should have done.

“What’s wrong Mom?” he asked as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

“The Dark Lord has new allies Harry,” Lily told him as she sat on the side of his bed and gently ran a hand through his hair. “It seems your cousins’ enemies have made an alliance with the Dark Lord to counter your own team up. Already he plans to assault Azkaban and free his more dangerous followers,” she explained. “You need to warn Sirius and the others so they can be prepared. I’m afraid this makes things far more dangerous for you Harry,” she admitted as he pulled back. 

“Damn it!” Harry cursed as he pushed himself into a sitting position. “Does he know about my new abilities?” he asked.

“No or at least not right now,” Lily answered and Harry could tell she was relieved by this. “While we can’t watch the mortal world all the time, a friend of mine from the first war was able to see the meeting between Voldemort and this demon who calls himself Balthazar,” she told him. “She told me as soon as I got back,” she added. 

“From where?” Harry asked, confused.

Lily hesitated in answering this, but decided to get it over with. “I oversaw your conversation with your friend Fleur,” she admitted with a sigh and couldn’t help but notice how Harry went a little red in the face at this. 

“Oh,” Harry responded, unable to believe this was happening, but again there was the feeling of contentment that this was something she would have done anyway. 

“I’m not going to get in the way if you like this girl Harry,” Lily told him gently. “I just worry. I think she is interested in you and seems nice, but you must be careful,” she advised him. “I know what it is like to be in a teenage romance, but here and now you can’t afford to be distracted,” she added.

Harry did his best to keep the nerves out of his voice before he responded. “I understand, but Fleur and I are just friends, I don’t really know what I feel in that regard,” he said as he ran a hand through his hair. “What would I know about romancing someone like Fleur?” he asked, his tone somewhat bitter. 

Lily couldn’t help but smile at that. “Do you think James really knew how to romance me, Harry?” she asked with an amused look in her eyes, making Harry look at her with some confusion in her eyes. “No one really knows how to romance the person they are falling for, they just do the best they can to form a connection with them and keep making it until they both know in their hearts they love one another,” she explained. “I know you’ve had a horrible life thanks to that idiotic old man’s choice to send you to my sister Harry, but you do have the capacity to love,” she assured him with a soft smile which he couldn’t help but return. 

“How can you be so sure?” Harry asked as this had always bothered him. His upbringing had made him very unsure if he could ever have a real relationship with someone. 

Lily continued to softly smile at him as she heard the vulnerability in his voice as he spoke. She again cursed Dumbledore for daring to send her son to her wretched sister. “Because we are all born with that vital need Harry, to find someone to love. To share our life with someone because it is written into our DNA,” she assured him. “Don’t worry about it, if this Fleur is the one you want then it will work itself out and you will find yourself in a relationship whether you are trying or not. She does not look like someone to pull away from a difficult task,” Lily told him. “In fact she might thrive in dealing with a relationship that challenges her. Anyone who wants you Harry will have to be able to help you deal with your background,” she added. 

Harry was somewhat reassured by his mother’s words, which gave him a far more optimistic look on the future, well as far as relationships were concerned anyway. 

Lily ran her hand through his hair one more time before she got up and placed a small kiss on his forehead. Then she vanished from the room. Harry rubbed his forehead for a minute before he reached over to the mirror on his bed side table and called out for Sirius. 

+WOM+

(12 Grimmauld Place, London)

Sirius grunted as someone seemed to shout his name from nearby. Blinking rapidly as he opened his eyes he looked around his darkened room. He suddenly realized the shouts were coming from the communication mirror on his bed side table and reaching over he grabbed it and accepted the call coming through. 

“Harry, what’s wrong?” he asked in a tone still very weighed down by sleep. 

“Sorry for waking you Sirius, but I’ve just got some bad news,” Harry responded with a sigh. “Voldemort has made an alliance with a bunch of demons, probably the same group my cousins are fighting,” he explained. “They plan to hit Azkaban soon. You have to warn as many people as you can to be careful should they go to help when it is hit,” he warned him. “These demons are like nothing they have fought before,” he stated. 

“Oh hell,” Sirius growled in response as he went on instant alert. “This makes things a lot more troublesome for us all. I’ll give the warning, but there is no telling what Dumbledore and the rest of the Order will think of this,” he pointed out with a frustrated sigh.

The old man’s attitude of late made it hard to predict how he would respond to this. Tonks and Remus would of course take the warning seriously as they had fought the demons that had assaulted them at the Halliwell manor when they first met Prue and her sisters. Dumbledore should by rights be wary of this news. If he recalled his history lessons correctly, Grindelwald had used demons during his time as the Dark Lord. Likewise Moody and a few of the other older members of the Order, who had been alive at that time, would be alerted by the news of demons allying with Voldemort. But even knowing that, could Dumbledore be counted on to really take this threat seriously? Sirius scratched his chin because he really didn’t know the answer to this. 

“Sirius,” Harry said, regaining his attention. “Tell Dumbledore the warning came from me, tell him I expect him to take it seriously or I might not come back to Hogwarts at the beginning of term,” he told him with a smile that reminded Sirius of James when he did something really sneaky. 

“Are you sure you want me to do that?” Sirius inquired with a raised eyebrow. “It will put a lot of attention on me. How would you have contacted me?” he pointed out. 

“Just tell him you received a letter by owl which then destroyed itself after it was read,” Harry told him in response. “Ensure you tell it that it was from me, either by saying Hedwig brought it or that the note contained something only I would know,” he suggested. 

“Yeah, that’ll do,” Sirius replied as he leaned against his head board and hoped this next discussion with Dumbledore would go better than the last. “Let’s hope he’s in a listening mood,” he said.

“Just make sure you tell him if he doesn’t take my warning seriously, he may be responsible for me not coming back,” Harry told him. “Now I suggest you either go back to sleep or get to work on alerting the Order because more than likely that attack on Azkaban will come soon,” he suggested. 

“No, I think I better get the alert out now, you go back to sleep Harry,” Sirius told him as he got up. “Thanks for the heads up,” he added before he signed off. 

After a quick trip to the bathroom he headed out to wake Remus, Tonks, Narcissa and the other two Order members staying at headquarters who happened to be Emmeline Vance and Mad Eye Moody. He decided not to bother with the Weasleys as they would just cause problems about Harry getting in contact and him not doing anything to try and bring him in.

+WOM+

(Azkaban Prison)

The prison was silent as the prisoners slept. The guards on duty either made their rounds or sat in their rooms reading. Usually guard duty on the prison island was boring. The presence of the Dementors made it a very creepy duty, but they put up with it. However, as one of the guards checked the main entrance he was stunned when the doors were blasted off their hinges. Just as he pulled his wand to sound the alarm he felt a burning pain in his back before he collapsed dead to the ground with a hole right through him. Balthazar smirked at the corpse before he turned and headed into the prison, his fellow demons following after him. Behind them Voldemort led his Death Eaters into the prison as well. He smiled, eager to find some guards to kill. 

+WOM+

(Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry)

Dumbledore frowned as his floo activated and Sirius appeared, he had warned the man not to use the floo just in case someone managed to trace the call. 

“Before you say it Dumbledore, don’t,” Sirius said, cutting him off from telling him off. “I have a good reason for calling. I just got a letter from Harry,” he told him.

Dumbledore instantly went on high alert and moved closer to the fire place. Finally, he had a break. Hopefully the letter was the boy telling them he was coming back. He’d have to punish the boy for leaving the Dursleys, but still it would ease his concern about his plans to have the boy back where he could be watched.

“It was a warning Albus,” Sirius reported with a frown showing through the green flames of the floo connection. “Voldemort has somehow allied with demons,” he stated.

“Impossible,” Dumbledore instantly argued. “We drove the demons off when we defeated Grindelwald, they wouldn’t come back,” he added confidently. “And how would Harry know what Voldemort is doing?” he inquired.

“He didn’t explain that in the note Albus. However, it did state he expects you to take the warning seriously or he’ll refuse to come back to Hogwarts when the new term begins,” Sirius replied.

“WHAT?” Dumbledore shouted, suddenly very angry. “Is the boy trying to blackmail me?” he demanded to know. 

“Albus, what the hell is wrong with you?” Sirius growled in response. “Harry just expects you to take things he says seriously. Clearly he might have a point in not coming back if you won’t take such warnings seriously,” he stated coldly. “Why he should trust any of us if we don’t trust him? His life is supposed to be in our hands, remember?” he added pointedly.

Dumbledore frowned at this and had to fight to keep a grimace off his face as he realized Sirius had a point. Why should Harry trust him or the Order if they did not take such warnings to heart? Letting out a sigh he came to the conclusion he had no choice but to do as Harry wanted. He would put the Order on alert and attempt to warn the Ministry as well, even if they were unlikely to listen to him. Fudge and the majority of the government had stuck their heads in the sands about Voldemort’s return. 

“Very well. I will do as Harry says and put the Order on alert Sirius,” he finally said, even if saying the words made him feel sick. “However, I want him to come back in return,” he added. 

“The message destroyed itself once I read it and there was no way to reply to it,” Sirius explained with a shake of his head. “Hopefully, once he sees how you’ve responded to his warning, he’ll come back on his own,” he suggested with a hopeful look. 

Before Dumbledore could respond Sirius cut the connection, leaving him staring at a normal looking fire. Frowning, he had to fight to control the anger he felt at both Sirius and Harry. Getting up he went and sat back down at his desk. When the boy finally showed himself Albus would make sure he paid for forcing his hand. 

+WOM+

(12 Grimmauld Place, London)

Sirius had to fight to keep a grin of his face as he savored the look on the old man’s face as he realized he had to do as Harry wished. Clearly his godson was growing up and taking charge of his life with the help of his cousins and their new friends. Probably the fact he could talk to his parents was helping him too. He glanced back to where Remus, Tonks and Narcissa sat with Emmeline and Moody. 

“So what did he say?” Tonks inquired as she sipped the coffee Remus had made for them all. 

“He has no choice but to do as Harry said and to put the Order on alert,” Sirius responded as he joined them. 

“I’d think he would take it seriously anyway, demons are not easy to kill,” Moody said, having to suppress a shiver. He had been a young Auror during the last year or so of the war against Grindelwald, but he had seen plenty of demons during that time. 

“Yeah well, he didn’t at first and when I told him what Harry said, he blew his top,” Sirius responded with a shake of his head. “Accused Harry of trying to blackmail him, when I think Harry just wants to know that Dumbledore takes him seriously and will do whatever he can to protect him and everyone else,” he stated.

“That doesn’t sound like Dumbledore,” Emmeline argued with a frown, marring her features. “But then he has been acting odd lately, we all know it,” she pointed out. 

“Yeah and it has me worried, girl,” Moody agreed. “But there isn’t much we can do about it unless he puts any of us at risk,” he reminded them.

“Do you think it will come to that Alistor?” Remus asked as he finished his own coffee. 

“I hope not or we are in some real deep shit,” Moody responded darkly and the others couldn’t help but agree. 

+WOM+

(Azkaban Prison)

Voldemort couldn’t help but smile as he tortured the warden of the prison who he had found in his office still fast asleep. The man screamed and begged for mercy, but of course he ignored the cries. Two guards lay dead on the ground from two well-placed killing curses while Lucius and McNair stood guard outside as he focused on the warden. Elsewhere in the prison Balthazar and his fellow demons fought side by side with the Death Eaters as the guards tried to put up a struggle.  
11\. Chapter 11

Note: Thank you to Inachis and Hawklan for their help on this chapter.

Chapter 11

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

Harry moaned as he tossed and turned in his bed as he seemed to be trapped in a nightmare of horrific events. Subconsciously a part of him knew he wasn’t dreaming. He had seen things like this before, he was inside the mind of Voldemort again, he knew, and he was seeing his attack on Azkaban. He cursed going back to sleep after giving the warning to Sirius. Now he was stuck watching this slaughter. Prue entered the bedroom, having heard Harry’s moans, and tried to wake him. However she found her cousin wouldn’t wake. 

“Leo,” she called out. But it was not Leo who turned up, it was Lily. “Where’s Leo?” Prue inquired. 

“A little busy right now and I already know the problem with Harry,” Lily replied, having not expected to be allowed to come back here so soon. But with Leo busy, someone had to come and explain Harry’s link with Voldemort. “Harry shares a mental connection to Voldemort, created when he tried to kill Harry as a child,” she explained. “At this moment in time he is seeing the attack on the wizarding prison Azkaban as if he was there. The link can’t be broken from the outside,” she continued. “Harry has to find his way back out by himself, unless of course Voldemort senses his presence and pushes him out of his mind, thus waking him up,” she finished. 

“Can this link be broken permanently?” Prue asked, not liking the idea of her cousin being linked to this psychotic Dark Lord who was after his head. “I mean I doubt Harry likes been stuck in his mind,” she pointed out. 

Lily wanted to tell Prue that it could be broken, but she was forbidden from giving them all of the answers, something that both frustrated as well as angered her. The link could be harmful to Harry and she wanted to protect him, but as James kept reminding her, if she did break the rules the Elders had set, then they might be stopped from visiting Harry permanently. And that was something she wasn’t willing to risk. She had to have faith that Prue and her sisters would find the answers on their own. 

“I can’t tell you that Prue, I’m forbidden by the Elders to tell,” Lily admitted and Prue could see Lily didn’t like being stopped from helping them this one bit. “If it can be broken, then you will have to find out how,” she stated before she vanished in a sparkle of light.

Prue watched her leave and hoped that just by saying that Lily had given her an indication that yes the link could be broken. She looked back to Harry who continued to toss and turn every now and then, moaning as if in pain. She pulled a nearby chair over and sat down, taking one of Harry’s hand in hers as she decided to stay and keep watch until Harry woke up. 

+WOM+

(Azkaban Prison)

Balthazar exulted in the kill as he ripped the spine out of another of the guards he had found. Most of them had tried to flee when it became clear they were out classed as well as outnumbered. He looked down at the blood on his hands and smirked. His human half had been drowned out completely as he led his fellow demons deeper into the prison. The silently watching Dementors, the supposed guards of the prison, seemed to make his human half retreat entirely. He found the sensation pleasant, and he wondered if there was a way to simulate the effect they had so his weak half would never bother him again. He glanced over as Voldemort arrived with what he guessed was the warden of the prison floating before him. Balthazar really wanted to gut the arrogant twit, but for now they had similar goals and thus he restrained himself. 

That didn’t stop him from seeing that the so called great Dark Lord had little imagination, he just liked to torture and inflict pain. He was nothing compared to Grindelwald. The previous Dark Lord had been a master of true terror and had known how to bend someone to his will without using such useless spells as this Dark Lord liked to throw around. Grindelwald had pushed the boundaries of magic further than the wand users had been capable of in the last century. Even now they remained behind the times. It amused him to see how backwards they still were. It also made him despise them as well for being such embarrassments to magic users on either side. 

“You see warden how my new allies rip through your ridiculous forces that dare try and fight me,” Voldemort said with a chuckle to the warden who could only moan and drool in response, his tortured body wanting nothing than to be put out of its misery. Why he was still alive, he didn’t know. “What was that Warden?” Voldemort asked sarcastically, pretending to hear something. “Nothing to say I see, probably too scared or awed by the power I command,” he mused, not seeing the glare his demonic ally sent him for that particular comment. “In a few minutes I will finally release my most faithful followers, and then my renewed war on the Wizarding world can begin,” he told the man. “But of course you will not be there to see it,” he stated calmly before he stopped the spell keeping the warden in the air and quickly followed it with a killing curse, ending the man’s misery. 

“Lucius!” Voldemort snapped and a few seconds later Lucius arrived and bowed before him. “Have you found Bellatrix and the others?” he inquired. 

“Yes my lord,” Lucius responded. “They were in the lowest levels of the prison which should not be a surprise I suppose,” he added uneasily, not wanting to upset his Lord’s temper. “They are in bad shape my Lord, especially Bellatrix,” he admitted. 

“Show me,” Voldemort commanded with a dark glare that made Lucius wish he was somewhere else. He needed Bellatrix and the others to be at their best and quickly, he would kill every guard in this place if they were beyond use. 

When he reached the cells that held his most faithful follower, he allowed an enraged growl to escape him that sent shivers up and down his followers spines. 

“Balthazar,” he spat, turning to the demon behind him. “Tell your brethren to kill every guard in this place, and then to ensure their corpses are displayed nicely for those who come looking for them,” he ordered. 

“As you wish,” Balthazar responded with a nod, actually liking the sounds of that particular order, and left to carry it out. Already he had an idea on how to display the corpses, this would be fun. 

“Give them all the potions they require so we can transport them back to the manor,” Voldemort ordered, turning back to his faithful followers. 

“M..Mas…Master, you came for us,” Bellatrix managed to choke out even though her voice was gravely and clearly weak. “I knew you would,” she muttered before she fell silent. 

“Rest Bellatrix,” Voldemort said. He was angered to see his favourite follower so diminished. “Soon you will be well again, and then we will make the world pay for their treatment of you,” he assured her before he turned and left his men to follow his orders. 

“My Lord, the prison is ours,” Dolohov stated as he came towards him. “With the Dementors on our side the guards can barely put up a fight anymore. What should we do?” he inquired.

“I have already given our demonic allies my orders for the guards. We will leave once we have what we came for,” Voldemort told him. “In the meantime see if any of the other prisoners will join our cause. If they agree, free them and bring them with us,” he ordered. 

“Yes my Lord,” Dolohov responded with a quick nod. Clearly his Master was thinking of increasing their numbers as much as they could, a wise move he thought but kept that to himself. 

Voldemort watched Dolohov leave before he continued on, barely paying any attention to the scenes of slaughter before him. The demons took great pleasure in skinning some of the guards.

Clearly they were taking his orders to the heart. He was certain when the Aurors arrive they would find a view that would turn their hearts cold and give them nightmares for the rest of their lives, however short they were. Yes, he thought, his new war would begin here. He paused suddenly as he felt almost as if he was been watched. His brow creased as he looked around before realizing the feeling reminded him of when he was learning Legilimency so long ago. Someone was in his mind. Then he recalled he had felt this before, back when he had gotten his temporary body before the ritual to get him a real body. Potter was somehow in his mind again. He had not thought about that particular problem for a while, but now it seemed he would have to turn his attention back to it. 

‘How was the boy getting into his mind?’ he wondered. It had taken him time to realize it was Potter who was causing the feeling of being watched. But it hadn’t happened since he got his new body. Now he realized it might be a problem of greater concern. He could not have Potter reaching into his mind at will. That would give him and his allies an advantage, one he could not afford to give them. He had to find a way to break this link. But first he had to learn how it had been created in the first place to prevent damage to himself when he broke it. Concentrating hard he pushed at Potter’s presence with as much force as he could. He felt a brief moment of Potter’s revulsion at what he was seeing before he managed to force Potter out of his mind. 

“Pleasant dreams Harry,” Voldemort whispered with a smile as he imagined Potter’s reaction when he woke up. Maybe this link could be useful in breaking Potter if he used it correctly, he mused. 

+WOM+

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

Prue was beginning to fall asleep in her chair when suddenly she felt an intense pressure gripping her hand. She opened her eyes in time to see Harry jerk upwards in the bed before twisting around and begin retching as if he was sick, just avoiding catching her as he did so. Prue quickly stood up and did her best to steady him. It took another five minutes before Harry stopped being sick and collapsed backwards in the bed.

“Are you okay Harry?” Prue asked as Piper quickly entered the room, having clearly heard their cousin being sick as their bedrooms were the closest to Harry’s. 

Harry shook his head as Piper darted back out and came back a few seconds later with a glass of water, which she quickly handed to Harry. He downed it mostly in one go, clearly thirsty after retching his guts out. 

“What happened?” Piper inquired as she tried to ignore the mess on the floor. 

“Harry has a mental connection to this Dark Lord who’s after him according to Lily,” Prue answered as she watched Harry try to regain control over his emotions. “Harry was seeing him assault some kind of prison as if he was there,” she explained. 

“It was horrible,” Harry managed to utter. “The demons started skinning the guards at Voldemort’s command because of the state of his imprisoned followers,” he informed them with a shiver. 

This piece of information made both sisters turn pale at the very thought of what their cousin had told them. They knew demons could be twisted, but this was an evil beyond what they had expected. It was clear to them both that what Harry had seen had affected him deeply. They were concerned about what kind of impact this sort of thing would have on Harry in the long term if he keeps seeing such images.

“How long has this been going on Harry?” Piper asked. “I mean, how long have you been able to get into his head?” she clarified.

“It started fourth year although before that I was always able to sense when he was close,” Harry answered shakily. “For some reason my scar acts like a beacon when he is close and if he feels intense emotions it affects me,” he continued. “It hurts like hell,” he stated. 

“Maybe the scar is the focal point of your connection to him Harry,” Prue told him as she raised her hand and trailed it over the scar that marked her cousin’s forehead before quickly pulling her hand away. “I sense some magic around it. Maybe Leo can tell us more when he finally gets back from whatever he is busy with,” she mused. 

“You called for Leo?” Piper inquired with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, because I couldn’t get Harry to wake up. He was trapped in the link,” Prue answered. “But he didn’t turn up, Lily did, and she explained what was going on. I asked if there was a way to break the link between them permanently, but she couldn’t tell because the Elders had forbidden her to help in that regard,” she told them both with a slight growl. “But I think she still indicated there was a way to break it, but only if we could find it,” she suggested with a slight smile. 

“If you can break it, I would be grateful,” Harry said quietly as he tried to forget the things he had seen, but the images refused to leave his mind. “I don’t want to see what else he might get up to,” he admitted. 

“What is Leo doing that’s stopping him coming when we call?” Piper asked, worried what the Elders might be up to where they were concerned. Would they attempt to keep Leo from helping them as they had done before? They had in effect quit after the Elders’ refusal to help them. They had also refused their order to send Harry, Xander and his friends away. So what would they do in response? 

“I don’t think Leo is in any danger Piper,” Prue assured, already guessing where her sister’s mind was going. “I didn’t get that kind of vibe of Lily where Leo was concerned,” she told her. “He has other charges, remember? Maybe he’s busy with one of them,” she suggested with a slight shrug.

Piper gave her elder sister an unsure look in response. It was clear to Prue that Piper didn’t honestly believe her idea, not that she blamed her. The Elders hadn’t exactly done much to earn such trust from Piper. If she was honest, maybe this rebellion of theirs brought on by Harry’s presence, as well as that of Xander and his friends was a long time coming.

“Do you think you can go back to sleep Harry?” Prue inquired, deciding to change the subject before Piper got into this problem to far. Harry just shook his head. There was no way he could go back to sleep after what he had just seen, at least not without something to knock him out cold. 

“Thankfully I know a good sleep spell we can use,” Piper suggested as she was diverted from her worry from Leo to her concern for Harry. “It’s not something we should use often, but in this case it should put you back under for a while without the nightmares following,” she explained.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Prue asked.

“Of course it is Prue. I’ve used it myself on occasion,” Piper responded with a slight glare. “Where do you think I learned it in the first place?” she said.

Prue didn’t bother to respond to that, although she promised herself to have a quite talk with Piper about why she needed the spell in the first place. She had an idea already, but she just wanted to make sure. She was concerned that Piper might overuse the spell even if she trusted her sister’s judgment. She wouldn’t be much of an elder sister if she didn’t make sure. She watched as Piper left to prepare the spell. She glanced back at Harry and noted he still looked off, not that she blamed him. 

Ten minutes later Piper returned with a small glass which clearly contained the potion needed to help put him to sleep. Harry downed it in one go as Piper read a small spell from a piece of paper. Prue watched as Harry slowly fell asleep under the effects of the spell. Clearly it was a fast acting spell and she hoped it did indeed keep Harry’s nightmares away. Piper quickly used the mop she had brought as well to clean up where Harry had been sick, while Prue helped settle Harry back into bed so he would be comfortable before turning and leaving with Piper. 

“Do you think he will be okay?” Piper asked just as she reached her own bedroom door. 

“Given time and someone to talk to who can help him, yes,” Prue answered confidently. “Hopefully Leo will be back tomorrow and he can have a talk with Harry,” she added, to which Piper nodded before entering her room. 

Prue watched her go and prayed Leo could help Harry. Leo had seen a lot of things even before he had become a Whitelighter and she hoped that would be enough to help Harry put what he had seen behind him. Letting out a sigh she entered her bedroom and as she settled back on her bed her mind strayed to her attraction to Xander which lead her into a rough sleep.

+WOM+

(12 Grimmauld Place, London)

Sirius listened as Dumbledore arrived with news that Azkaban prison had been attacked by what the Ministry was calling unknown forces, but in reality it could have been only one person, but then seeing as Harry had given advance warning of the attack that would be obvious. However it seemed Dumbledore had failed to pass on the warning or had been too slow in sending said warning. Now Dumbledore was here for Moody, Tonks, Kingsley and Emmeline to accompany him to the prison along aside a force of Aurors awaiting his return. 

“Be careful Tonks. If any of those Demons are still there that place could be a trap,” Sirius stated as he moved closer to his cousin.

“Yeah, I was already considering that possibility,” Tonks responded. “What I’m worried about is what we are going to see there, considering Moody’s tales,” she admitted. 

Sirius wished he could say something that would comfort her, but he didn’t know what that would be, so he just placed what he hoped would be a comforting hand on her shoulder. He wished he could go with her and the others, but he was still a wanted criminal in the eyes of the Ministry. So he had to remain behind and just hope that things went well. Dumbledore didn’t give him even a glance as he turned and led the four members of the Order who were Aurors back to the Ministry.

“Good luck,” he whispered as he turned and went looking for Narcissa. 

+WOM+

(Riddle Manor)

Voldemort settled back on his throne in a much better mood. He believed the assault on the prison couldn’t have gone better. When the Aurors would show up to check what had happened, they would walk straight into a nightmare. A nightmare that would quickly pass to the everyday person of the Wizarding world and absolutely terrify them. Oh they wouldn’t know it was him because the Ministry kept saying he was dead. That helped him to move his forces around and set plans in motion. Also by remaining in hiding he widened the mistrust between the Ministry and the Order. That fool Fudge was so paranoid he’d attack anything that threatened his power, and right now that included the old fool Dumbledore himself, much to Voldemort’s amusement. 

“My Lord, it will take a least a week for Bellatrix and the others to begin to respond to the potions and regain their strength, as well as heal the damage the prison has done to them,” Lucius reported as he came into the room and bowed before him. 

“Ensure they are well treated Lucius or it will be you that pays the price for the failure. Is that understood?” Voldemort commanded with a glare that chilled Lucius. 

“Of course my Lord,” Lucius assured him, whilst bowing lower. “They will also require new wands when they are able to fight once more,” he added. 

“I will have Parkinson and McNair deal with it,” Voldemort responded before waving him away. His eyes settled on Balthazar. “You and your friends proved to be worthy allies. I see great things to come,” he stated once Lucius had left. 

“Just remember our deal. The boy’s cousins and their new friends must die,” Balthazar reminded him with a growl, wishing to be out of this man’s presence. 

“But of course and die they will, I assure you,” Voldemort responded as he watched the demon vanish. “And once I no longer need you or your friends, you will die as well,” he muttered under his breath. 

+WOM+

(Azkaban Prison)

Dumbledore stood rooted to the spot as he looked at the skinned corpses of the guards who once kept this prison safe. It was a scene out of a nightmare he thought he would never see again. It would seem Harry had been correct about the demons allying with Voldemort. Only a demon could have done this. He could barely hear Emmeline and Tonks retching in the background together with quite a few of the male Aurors. Moody stood next to him with a dark look in his remaining human eye. 

“This is bad Albus,” Moody growled with a shake of his head. “Once this gets out, the people will panic and that will give that moron Fudge all the excuse he needs to crack down on us all,” he pointed out. “He will pin this on Sirius like everything else, and more importantly, we now have to fight demons again,” he spat. “Did you send Potter’s warning to the Ministry?” he asked after a second or two. 

“No, I didn’t as I knew Fudge would never take it seriously and you know that Alistor,” Dumbledore responded grimly. Moody had to concede the old man had a point there. “But I sent out warnings to all Order members. I took the boy’s warning to heart,” Dumbledore stated, even if it still galled him that he had been forced into doing so.

“Split up and search the prison for any survivors, prisoners or guards,” Moody ordered. 

“Sir, where are the Dementors?” one of the Aurors inquired.

“Aye, good question lad,” Moody agreed as he began to move deeper into the prison. He already had a good idea where they were, and if he was right, that meant things were going to get worse. 

Tonks shivered as she tried to regain control of herself, but it wasn’t easy. Never in her life had she thought she would see something so gruesome as this. This was something that was going to give her nightmares for the rest of her life. Glancing at Emmeline she was sure her friend was realizing the same thing. What kind of monsters were these demons? She had never thought there could be something worse than the Death Eaters out there, but she was dead wrong.  
12\. Chapter 12

Note: Thank you to Inachis and Hawklan for fixing this chapter up.

(Ministry of Magic)

Cornelius Fudge and the entire Wizengamot sat in silence, as Albus Dumbledore and the team who had accompanied him to Azkaban, bar Tonks who had refused to go, made their report. The scenes describes were right out of a nightmare, a nightmare of times best forgotten. However even Fudge could not deny the evidence at hand. The whole prison had been turned into a slaughter house. The guards had all been butchered and then skinned and hung out like clothes set to dry. Photos of what had been found were placed before every member of the government body and not one of them could deny what was being said. Lucius Malfoy sat near the back with the rest of the supporters of the Dark Lord, watching as fear spread through the government just as their Master had predicted. 

“Who is responsible for this carnage?” Thomas Abbott demanded to know, the first to recover himself.

“I have already stated before this body that we face a renewed danger from Lord Voldemort. You have so far ignored this and started to question my sanity,” Dumbledore responded with a glare at Fudge, who glared back. He also ignored the usual response people gave when he said the Dark Lord’s name. He had grew tired of it and usually ignored it. “I know you question my belief in the tale told by Harry Potter when he returned from where the illegal portkey took him and Cedric Diggory,” he continued. “However I do not doubt that tale. Voldemort is a wizard of great power and if anyone was to find a way to cheat death, it would be him,” he stated coldly. “If we are to present a united front to this danger, which is growing daily while you continue to ignore it, then we must find a way to verify who is behind it, one way or the other,” he concluded. 

“And how do you expect us to do this Dumbledore?” Delores Umbridge inquired with a look that clearly stated she believed the old man had lost his mind. 

“It is quite simple. When Harry Potter is found, he will be brought before this body and questioned under Veritaserum so the full truth can finally be known,” Dumbledore answered, knowing he was walking a tight rope here. 

Fudge grinned as he heard this because he was sure the tale was false. Maybe Dumbledore expected them to use a supply of Veritaserum from Hogwarts. A supply they would clearly tamper with so the boy could continue to lie. No, he would accept this and ensure Bones used only Ministry accepted Veritaserum. That way there was no way the boy could lie, he would catch the old fool and his tool in the act right in front of the Wizengamot. It would be all he would need to remove Dumbledore from the school and replace him with Umbridge right off the bat. The old fool couldn’t have given him a better chance at destroying whatever remained of his reputation. 

“Very well Albus, if you want to expose your madness before this body then who am I to stop you?” Fudge finally spoke. “Once you have found the missing Potter, you will bring him before us where he will be questioned under Veritaserum from the Ministry and we will finally put to an end this nonsense about the supposed return of He Who Must Not Be Named,” he crowed in delight, something that was not missed by anyone. 

“If I may Minister,” Malfoy spoke up, unnerved by what had just been agreed to, as it would mean the exposure of the Dark Lord’s actual return. “How do we know Potter cannot fight of the effects of Veritaserum?” he inquired. “We do know a strong subject can indeed fight off the effects as we found out during the war,” he reminded them.   
“My colleague raises a good point,” Neil Parkinson agreed as he too stood. “This boy has long been hidden from this world, kept from our eyes by the actions of Dumbledore,” he pointed out. “How do we know he hasn’t been secretly training Potter for reasons we do not yet know, training that may include how to beat things like Veritaserum,” he finished. 

Dumbledore snorted in disgust. “That is the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard. The boy was hidden to ensure his safety from the remaining Death Eaters who managed to stay hidden within our mists,” he explained. “And we do know some escaped our efforts to find them. They showed themselves at the Quidditch World cup as you will all recall,” he reminded them. “Had the boy remained in our world and visible, I have no doubt he would never have lived to attend Hogwarts and we would have lost another ancient family to the madness Voldemort unleashed on us all,” he stated coldly as he looked around the room. 

“I agree with Albus,” Amelia Bones said as she stood up. “Had Potter remained in the open, he would have been an easy target and long since killed,” she agreed. “I also find it hard to believe Albus would train a teenager in such ways as Mr. Parkinson suggests. What possible use could the boy be to him and to what end?” she asked with a shake of her head. “I have stayed silent during the Minister’s tirades against what he says is rumor mongering. He suggests Albus is trying to cause panic and again I ask, to what end?” she continued. “Albus has served this body longer than any other person here, he destroyed the previous Dark Lord and was a big reason why we didn’t succumb to He Who Most Not Be Named during the war,” she reminded them all in a heated voice. 

“I do not think for a minute he would try to cause panic for no reason. We must take his warning seriously and ensure there is no possibility that the Dark Lord could return. For if he did, we would be hard pressed to fight him,” she stated. “That is our duty here to the people, no matter our private thoughts on the matter,” she finished before sitting down again.

Amelia’s impassioned speech gained a multitude of support from most of the Wizengamot. Fudge could see Bones had rallied enough support to ensure an investigation into Dumbledore’s claims would be carried out, including the questioning of Potter. That was not what he had wanted, but at least both Potter and Dumbledore would be disgraced when the boy was questioned with Veritaserum, which would have to suffice for now. 

“Very well Madam Bones, I will allow you to ascertain the truth of Dumbledore’s allegations with a full investigation. However, I feel the truth will reveal itself when the boy is questioned,” Fudge conceded. 

Umbridge beside him scowled as her hated enemy. Amelia Bones rallied the majority of the Wizengamot to support an investigation into the possible return of the Dark Lord. That might get in the way of her continued rise to power. She had used Fudge for all he was worth. This included getting herself placed at Hogwarts, a suggestion Fudge had leapt at when she mentioned it to him. This sudden twist felt like a bad move on Fudge’s part, not that she was surprised by his stupidity as he usually made bad calls. Fudge was the kind of man who was easily swayed by the strongest person in the room, or at least the one who had the popular backing to make him look good. Bones was well known for having the backing of her people, she had lasted as head of the Department of Law Enforcement because she was well liked by the people. 

Umbridge had hated Bones for being so well liked as those same people hated her with the same passion with which they adored Bones. Now she was purposely getting in the way of her own plans for power. But there was little she could do now. Hopefully the Potter brat was lying about the return of the Dark Lord. If not, then maybe she could work that to her advantage somehow. She would have to think carefully on that and see what she could work out. 

“Before we dismiss this meeting I order an increase in Auror recruitment and placement in all important areas of Wizarding Britain,” Fudge ordered, realizing he had to be seen taking some action in response to the breakout. “With so many of the Dark Lord’s most ardent follows loose, we need to ensure the people’s safety,” he added. 

“If I may, what if, unlike Dumbledore’s suggestion that the Dark Lord is behind this - as I don’t believe for a minute any man can return from death -” Lucius said standing once more. “What if this is the work of Sirius Black, a man who has already escaped Azkaban?” he suggested with a cold smirk which he quickly hid although it was seen by Dumbledore. 

“Sirius Black has neither the power nor the imagination to earn the loyalty of demons Lucius, as you should realize,” Dumbledore responded with a slight sigh as Malfoy tried to direct things towards Sirius. “It takes a powerful wizard to earn their loyalty as it was when they served Grindelwald. I saw firsthand their handy work and I also saw how difficult it was for Grindelwald to control them at the time,” he informed them all. “Sirius Black would be killed by demons for trying to gain their help. He is a mediocre wizard at best who has been in prison for the majority of his adult life,” he reminded them. 

“Then perhaps another is behind this breakout,” Lucius easily shot back. “Anything is more believable than the return of a dead man, even one as evil and powerful as He Who Must Not Be Named,” he stated before sitting back down. 

“Either way I’m certain Amelia will find the answers,” Fudge cut in, eager to be out of the room and back in his office. “Now I declare this meeting concluded,” he added before he got up and left, quickly followed by Umbridge. 

Dumbledore let out a relieved sigh that he had managed to box Fudge into a choice that would be his downfall. He was also relieved that he had managed to stop Malfoy from turning the whole thing onto Sirius’s shoulders. Having the Ministry focusing on him would be a disaster right now. They had to start taking steps to counter Voldemort before it was too late. Now thanks to this meeting Amelia would have more people to field in case of attacks. Of course she needed to train the new recruits first. He noted Amelia coming towards him and he quickly put on a thankful look, and he was thankful that she had stood up for all this. 

“That was far too close Albus. Now I don’t know what exactly is going on, but if there is even a sliver of a chance that the snake is back then I want to know about it,” Amelia told him immediately. “That bastard killed nearly my entire family bar my niece Susan. I will not allow him to kill on such a scale again,” she added heatedly. “Now you say Potter is missing. Why wasn’t I notified?” she demanded to know as they walked towards her office. They kept their voices low so they wouldn’t be overheard.

“I feared if it was known to the general public it might cause panic on our side, as well as alert Voldemort to the fact and thus give him a chance to find and kill Harry before we can get him back to a safe place,” Dumbledore explained, having been surprised that no one, not even Fudge, had blinked at the fact the boy was missing. 

“I take it you have your own people looking for him?” Amelia inquired as they reached her office and she quickly locked the door and placed some anti-listening spells down. 

“I do, but so far no luck although we have had contact with Harry,” Dumbledore responded with a small smile and his usual twinkle in his eye. “In fact it was his warning that alerted us to Voldemort’s alliance with the demons,” he stated. “However I’m afraid to say I didn’t pass it on because I knew Fudge would ignore it and use it as more leverage to remove me from my last post as he has done with my other posts,” he admitted, knowing the best way to sway Amelia into working with him was the truth or as close to the truth as he could get. 

Amelia went red in the face when she realized the slaughter at the prison might have been stopped, or at least the casualties might not have been so bad. With great effort she forced down her anger and immediate response. She had to admit Fudge would never have taken Dumbledore’s warning to heart, especially as it came from Harry Potter. Finally slumping to her chair she thought long and hard how to respond. Dumbledore sat in front of her desk and waited knowing he could not rush her. 

+WOM+

(Riddle Manor)

Voldemort watched as Bellatrix and the others were seen to. Many of them were in very bad shape and it would take time for them to heal as Lucius had stated back in the prison. It was frustrating, but he supposed he shouldn’t be too surprised. They had been in the deepest cells in Azkaban for close to fifteen years. It was bound to have repercussions, just as his time as a wraith had an effect on him although he kept that fact a secret. 

Turning away he headed back to his room. He needed to clear his head as well as think about this link that connected him to Potter. He needed to break it and fast, but first to discover how it had been created he might need to take a trip down memory lane. To the darkest day in his life, the day his body had been destroyed by a mere infant and his destiny had been cruelly ripped from his grasp. 

+WOM+

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

Harry woke up feeling drained and sluggish after the previous night. The memory of what he had witnessed was still very fresh in his mind. That damn link he had with Voldemort was really beginning to get annoying. There had to be a way to break it, because he didn’t want to see any more of that man’s actions. Slowly he made his way to the bathroom and had a quick shower and relieved himself. He hoped today would be a better day. First thing though he had to check in with Sirius and see what had happened with his warning. The old twit better had taken it seriously. Once he had made it downstairs he joined the others in the kitchen for breakfast. He did his best to ignore the worried looks his cousins shot him, so he guessed they had filled Phoebe in on what had occurred the night before.

He quickly noticed the growing tension between Xander and Faith was still very much present. He wondered how two people supposedly in love could begin to fall apart so quickly. It made him think again on his possible romance with Fleur. His conversation with his mother on the subject had made him actually think it was possible now. But he was wary of it all blowing up in his face, like it seemed to be doing with Xander and Faith. He quickly finished his breakfast and then went to the living room with the mirror he had brought down with him.

“Sirius can you hear me?” he said into the mirror. 

+WOM+

(12 Grimmauld Place, London)

Sirius Black sat next to his still very disturbed cousin. Tonks had come back from Azkaban with the others in tears and had been sick once or twice during the night. The descriptions Tonks and the others had given of what they had found were disturbing in the extreme, it had proved Harry correct in his warning about the demons. This morning Dumbledore and the majority of his team who had gone with him to Azkaban had left for an important meeting with the Wizengamot. However Tonks had refused to go, still very much upset over the things she had witnessed in the prison. For most of the night he and Narcissa had sat with her and tried to keep her calm, her nightmares kept her up most of the night. 

It had struck Sirius right at that moment that the Black Family was slowly coming back together under a new path. Andromeda was on her way to see her daughter and have her first face to face with her sister Narcissa in years. At that point there would be four members of the family under the same roof, and on the same side of the great divide of their world. Bellatrix he knew would never return from the darkness that had claimed her life. She was lost, but he sometimes remembered the young bright girl she had once been. Still, he should be happy he had reclaimed Narcissa and even Draco from the darkness. Yes, he would make the Black name mean something again instead of being a by word for hatred and evil. He was startled when he heard Harry’s voice. Glancing down at the mirror on the side table he quickly picked it up. 

“Yes Harry, I’m here and so are Tonks and Narcissa,” Sirius told his godson and then frowned when he got a good look at how Harry looked. “Looks like Tonks wasn’t the only one to have a rough night?” he mused. 

“No, I didn’t have a good night, I saw everything that happened at Azkaban and I do mean everything,” Harry admitted with a sigh and a dark look in his eyes that told Sirius he didn’t want to know. “My link with Voldemort is becoming more and more of a problem,” Harry stated with a troubled look, replacing the tired one he had been wearing. 

“Tonks and the others told us what they found at the prison Harry. It affected Tonks so badly she refused to go the Ministry to report alongside the others who went with Dumbledore,” Sirius admitted as he ran a hand through his hair and glanced at his cousin who was listening along with Narcissa to what was being said. 

“I can understand why it got to her and there is no shame in her refusing to go,” Harry assured him and Sirius noted Tonks smiled a little at hearing what Harry said, which relieved him. “I called to ask to find out if the old man took my warning seriously?” he asked. 

“He did Harry, but he didn’t warn the Ministry because he knew Fudge wouldn’t take it seriously,” Sirius admitted with a sigh. “Granted he could have taken it to someone else, anyone really, to warn them of what was coming, but more than likely it would have been too late to do much about it except maybe minimize the deaths involved,” he told his godson. 

Harry scowled as Sirius responded to his question. He guessed he shouldn’t be too surprised by this and he did have to admit it was unlikely Fudge would have listened to the warning. Since the end of forth year his relationship with the Minister had gone downhill fast, he doubted things had improved since he had left Hogwarts. But on the other hand he agreed with Sirius that the old man could have gone to someone else in the Ministry with the warning. Someone in there would have listened or at least he hoped they would have.

“There is nothing else that could have been done Harry, so don’t beat yourself up about it,” Sirius advised him. “Dumbledore wants you to come back and soon, he is getting very insistent on this point. He especially didn’t like the fact you promised not to return if he didn’t take your warning to heart,” he warned him. “I would expect if you do return, he will not be pleasant,” he stated. 

“As if I could give a damn,” Harry spat back. “He can be as nasty as he wants to be Sirius, I know he’s not my ally and I’ll be very careful around him when I do come back,” he promised. 

“And when will that be Harry?” Narcissa inquired, leaning over Sirius’s shoulder. “Things here are uncertain and a powder keg waiting to explode,” she told him. “Your return might help stabilize things or at least calm things down so we can finally get to grips with what it is Dumbledore is really doing,” she advised. 

Harry paused because this was his first time speaking with the woman who had only a week ago been the wife of Lucius and was the mother of Draco Malfoy. Both had been two of his more dangerous adversaries beyond Voldemort. Granted, Draco was far easier to handle than his father, but you still had to keep an eye on the guy or he would catch you off guard. Now according to Sirius, Draco and Narcissa had turned their backs on Lucius and had sworn magical binding oaths that they stood with them against Voldemort and all who served him. Draco would be one of his few real allies in the next school year, and that was a disturbing truth to get used to. ‘How quickly things change,’ he thought with a rueful shake of his head before growing serious again.

“I don’t know when I’ll be back, but it will be soon. I can’t leave things like this for too much longer,” Harry finally responded. “I’ll get back to you on that. Just keep an eye on things and watch your backs,” he told them before he signed off. 

Sirius let out a frustrated sigh, wishing that Harry would come back, but he was also relieved his godson wasn’t here as he was still unsure what Dumbledore planned to do with him. The whole thing was messed up, and he had no idea how it was all going to turn out. 

+WOM+

(Underworld)

Cole Turner watched as the Triad thought over everything he had told them about the attack on the prison. They paid close attention to what he had said about Voldemort’s actions and had come to the conclusion that this particular Dark Lord was not completely in control of himself. Perhaps his time as a wraith had unbalanced him somewhat. Who knew what kind of effects having your body destroyed might have on a person? 

“We think it’s clear this Dark Lord will have to be watched carefully,” the head Triad member stated coldly. “He is not to be trusted, he’s unhinged,” he added. 

“And dangerous. If he shows the slightest hint of betrayal, you will kill him,” one of the other Triad members stated.

Cole chuckled harshly. “Of course he intends to betray us once we have served his purpose, but then we always intended to kill him anyway once he has served our purpose. So what does it matter?” he told them. “Either way he will die, but using him to kill the Charmed Ones must take priority. So let him try and betray us when he can do little to actually harm us,” he reminded them with confidence. 

“Your confidence is pleasing but somewhat misguided Balthazar. Magic in any form can be dangerous even to us, especially if wielded by a powerful wizard or witch,” the head Triad member stated in an even colder tone. “And this Dark Lord no matter if he is unhinged or not, is powerful. So watch him carefully or you will forfeit your father’s soul forever,” he warned before they vanished.

Cole growled at the threat before he turned and stormed out of the chamber. One day he vowed, he would kill the Triad, but only once he had his father’s soul in his hands. 

+WOM+

(Halliwell Manor, San Francisco)

Xander stared out of the window of his room and wondered for the tenth time if coming here might have been a mistake. His relationship with Faith was failing fast and he didn’t know how to salvage it. What had seemed like the only way to find answers to how he and Janna had become bonded, and more important how the trinity spell Amy and the others had done had revived Janna from death, had quickly added to the problems because of the presence of Prue Halliwell. He had quickly developed an attraction to the elder sister and Faith had quickly taken notice of it. This combined with the situation with Janna had put his relationship on a knife edge. Soon a choice would have to be made and he had no idea what his choice would be. Nothing was certain anymore. He ran a distracted hand through his hair and prayed he would make the right choice, if there even was one.


End file.
